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Customer opinion matters: Pro-Rail Alliance chooses Train Station of the Year
Customer opinion matters: Pro-Rail Alliance chooses Train Station of the Year
Darmstadt and Baden-Baden are this year’s winners
Customer service in Darmstadt convinced the jury during their incognito visits (photos in print quality can be found at the end of the text)
Berlin. The selection process is finished and the jury has reached a unanimous verdict: Darmstadt and Baden-Baden are the winners of the Train Station of the Year 2010 award. For the seventh year in succession, the Pro-Rail Alliance is giving the honour to the most customer-friendly train station in Germany. The award for the category large town or city is being awarded to Darmstadt’s main train station. Both its interior and exterior left the jury feeling cheerful and relaxed. The smaller town category was awarded to Baden-Baden’s station, which, according to the jury, welcomes travellers “with open arms”. “Train stations are important for everyone. More than any other public building they characterise a city or town,” said Dirk Flege, managing director of the Pro-Rail Alliance. “Our award therefore is not just an accolade for the station’s management; it is a mark of distinction for the whole town and the region.” The rail companies as well as the city and state authorities have to plan and invest jointly in the interest of passengers, added Flege. “The Germans are not really spoilt for choice when it comes to luxury train stations. But there is a growing appetite.”
Darmstadt Main Station: Germany’s greenest
What impressed most in Darmstadt was how green there is around the main entrance area. “Flowerbeds in front of the station are nothing unusual, but how many train stations are located right next a park?” The interior of Germany’s greenest station also impressed the jury’s 5 members, made up of representatives from the passenger groups Pro Bahn, DBV (Deutsche Bahnkunden-Verband) and VCD (Verkehrsclub Deutschland), the ACE (Autoclub Europa) and the German Pro-Rail Alliance. The giant building, made of grey natural stone, and featuring a bright, newly modernised interior which perfectly combines glass elements with art nouveau lamps, presented itself favourably to the station testers. A very personal conversation at the information desk, the red leather armchairs in the travellers’ centre and the rustling of the summer chestnut leaves in the Fürstenbahnhof Restaurant were the deciding factors for Karl-Peter Naumann from Pro Bahn. “Darmstadt is a boon for travellers,” said Naumann, adding that the city connections were very good. “The strict separation of private cars from public transport on the station forecourt, and the exemplary information for passengers continuing their journeys, have turned Darmstadt’s main station into a shining example of how transport should be interconnected.”
Picture gallery: Darmstadt Main Station
A giant, natural stone building. Darmstadt is Germany’s greenest main station. (© Allianz pro Schiene/Gerd Kittel)
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Baden-Baden Station. Unites everything under one roof
Baden-Baden is a train station where everything is easy to reach and under cover, was the verdict of the jury, which always turns up unannounced and incognito. “Station café, hotel, bus station, everything is here under one roof,” said Monika Ganseforth from the VCD. “Parking for motorbikes, rental bikes and a generously proportioned pedestrian underpass prove that Baden-Baden can compete with any large city’s train station. However, the excellent station has more to offer. “Artistic signs dating from the time of the ruling princes, listed heritage pillars, a spotlessly clean station concourse, and friendly shops and restaurants: Baden-Baden certainly has that renowned feel-good factor,” said Ganseforth.
Picture gallery: Baden-Baden train station
Germany’s warmest region: Baden-Baden is usually covered with a blue sky. (© Allianz pro Schiene/Gerd Kittel)
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The State of Hesse: First-time winners. Baden-Württemberg now has three winners.
With Darmstadt’s award, the State of Hesse has won for the first time since the Train Station of the Year competition began. Baden-Württemberg now leads in the ranking of the Länder with three winning train stations: Mannheim, Karlsruhe and now Baden-Baden. The second place is shared between the states of Bavaria, Thuringia and Lower Saxony with two winners each. North-Rhine Westphalia, Saarland and Rhineland Palatinate are all still empty-handed. “The Länder also bear a responsibility,” said Flege, who emphasised that the jury had made several big excursions to test stations in North-Rhine Westphalia. “Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything suitable in Germany’s largest federal state.”
Special prize: Eschwege station: “The lost child”.
A special prize for the reinstatement of a station to a town is being awarded to Eschwege in Hesse. After 24 years of being sidelined, Eschwege opened a new line, including station, in December 2009. “We would like to commemorate this return of a ‘lost child’,” said jury member Naumann, “especially since the small station is very well integrated with the town and also because it has otherwise passed all the expert checks.”
Picture gallery: Eschwege Station
After 24 years of being sidelined. Eschwege opened a new track and train station in 2009. (© Allianz pro Schiene/Christian Schultz)
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No personnel? A knock-out factor.
The Pro-Rail Alliance has made the awards for the ‘Train Station of the Year’ competition to Germany’s best station in a city and in a smaller town since 2004. Only stations that satisfy the needs of customers and citizens, according to a defined set of criteria, can receive the award. Objective demands such as customer information, cleanliness, and integration with the city and connections with other modes of transport are as important to clinching the vote as more subjective ‘feel-good’ factors. Dirty toilets, for example, are an obvious knock-out factor. Others include: stations that are not staffed, are lacking in safety or are not barrier-free. These cannot win the award. “Customers do not want stations without personal contact,” said jury member Ganseforth. The previous winning stations were: 2009 . Erfurt and Uelzen: 2008 – Karlsruhe and Schwerin; 2007 – Berlin Main Station and Landsberg am Lech; 2006 – Hamburg Dammtor and Oberstdorf; 2005 – Mannheim and Wismar; 2004 Hannover and Lübben.
Photographic exhibition: Train Station of the Year 2004 - 2010
A large exhibition of photos from the Train Station of the Year 2004 – 2010, under the patronage of Federal Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer (CDU) will have its opening on September 1 at midday in Berlin’s main station (south entrance). Photos of all the winning station will be on display until September 7. The exhibition will then go on tour to all the larger winning stations.
Itinerary
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Berlin Hbf |
01.09. – 07.09. |
Additional information about the winners (in German)
Additional information about the competition (in German)
Media Contact
Press photos
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