Modern Railway Stations as New Sophisticated Urban Spaces

Abstract

<p>Railway stations are important elements of the urban infrastructure exerting a substantial influence on the image of the city. The paper shows several examples of new railway stations with innovative structures that have a great impact on their urban surrounding. Such modern stations have appeared as a result of the “station renaissance” trend, promoted by the railway companies.</p><p>The reinvented rail travel conferred upon the railway stations several new physical and meaningful dimensions. New urban spaces shaped by the new stations have the size of large metropolitan “station cities”, with attractive architecture and urban links, connected by high-speed railways. The paper examines these stations on the example of Europe and Japan, and concludes that these new transport facilities are not only changing the cityscape, but also are becoming the new diversified urban city centres.</p>

The new steel‐glass architecture of railway stations in Japan

“…We have also observed a development aimed at a more diverse and novel arrangement of the station establishments [7], [8].…”

“…The analysis of Japanese stations includes examples of large urban "mega-stations" as well as local stations [7], [8], [10].…”

Historical and Modern Structures at the Railway Stations

“…The fourth span was renovated in 2011, involving repair and restoration of the original Edwardian glazed roof. So that 1 Urban Land Institute (ULI) founded in 1936 in Washington D.C. is a non-profit organization for scientific research and education platforms 9 to 12 can once again have daylight. Currently, the station is undergoing the most significant redevelopment since the historic station was completed.…”

“…In Japan, railways have had always strong popularity and stations were important public and commercial facilities. "Station renaissance" trend has stimulated the development of new generation of stations [1]. These stations include completely new infrastructure, such as e.g.…”