Celebrating The Future Of Rail In Scotland

from BDP 2021 The Big Conversation

by BDP – Building Design Partnership

The Pencil And The Mouse

Ed Dymock

Architect Associate

There is a real buzz in the rail sector in Scotland right now. The Scottish Government, Transport Scotland, Network Rail, train operator companies and their supply chain all understand that getting rail right is essential to battle climate change.

Further decarbonisation of rail requires electrification of additional routes and where this is not viable or cannot be delivered quickly enough, the use of hydrogen and battery powered trains. The ambition is for wise, immediate and steady investment in these technologies but how do we ensure this works in practice?

**The remodelled station enhances the setting of the historic structure**

Although under a third of Scotland’s rail network is electrified, around 75% of Scotland’s passenger rail journeys already take place on electrified routes. The law of diminishing returns means that future investment in electrification and the alternatives, whilst essential, will not deliver the same number of greener journeys that previous investment did. To decarbonise Scotland’s transport infrastructure in line with their 2035 commitment, the Scottish Government’s biggest challenge is to deliver a modal shift from car to train, electric bus and active modes. But creating behavioural change is never easy.

**Key section – connecting the city to the platform**

Improving access to the rail network and creating value for money is key, but so is the customer experience. Train frequency, punctuality, the convenience of reduced journey times, the provision of additional seats and the quality (and performance) of stations all need to contribute.

Tomorrow’s Living Station, a report by Network Rail, imagines the stations of the future. It suggests that they should be centres of people movement, support inclusive growth and form the heart of healthy communities. Stations should be catalysts for transit oriented economic growth. These themes will drive the decarbonisation of transport and a modal shift towards rail and active travel for the final mile. We need to stop thinking of station investment as being in buildings, but rather as investing in wider locales and communities. Stations should be celebrated as beacons of economic development and community identity, connectors to places and spaces where business, people and communities come together.

‘The station as a beacon’ was the design driver for Glasgow Queen Street. We viewed EGIP’s redevelopment of the station as an opportunity to assert Scotland’s confidence in the future of rail with a building that celebrates the passengers’ choice of transport. The station is not just a welcoming, accessible building that will cater for the predicted 90% increase in footfall, but it’s an extrovert place with a commanding civic presence – a building that brings delight and pride to all who use it. In September 2020 it was voted the nation’s favourite station in an online poll.

We recognise that the architectural and spatial experience is a crucial part of the rail experience. For the arriving passenger, it’s a warm welcome to Glasgow. For the departing passenger it’s a physical gateway to the rail network. The gold anodised aluminium cladding on the new concourse roof makes a bold statement; a symbol for a rapidly greening transport network. Queen Street’s new concourse now connects its users to the site’s heritage, contributes to the identity of the city and makes a statement about Scotland’s transport priorities; something that a car journey or a car park could never do.