Deutsche Bahn has chosen 16 future train stations along its route network to test new concepts and services. The lobby association Allianz pro Schiene honors the attempt and the result and chooses one of the stations as the best station of the year as a "place of well-being". And yet there is room for improvement.
The Upper Franconian Coburg has the "Bahnhof des Jahres 2022". The jury found that creative solutions were found in a small space in order to offer passengers a place of well-being. "It offers a great quality of stay and always focuses on the needs of travelers," said Dirk Flege, Managing Director of the Pro-Rail Alliance transport alliance. The jury of the annually awarded prize wrote in its statement: "The historic station hall in particular is a real eye-catcher."
Specifically, the jury praised, among other things, the renovated floor in the historic checkerboard pattern, modern seating islands with USB ports, the seating niches in former shop windows and the platform underpass with "modern, bright graphics". The committee also praised the selfie point with the Veste Coburg, a large castle complex, in the background and the digital information point of the city. "The only things the jury would have wished for were luggage storage facilities in the station area and more covered bicycle parking spaces at the station," it said.
The train station in northern Bavaria was recently renovated and from 2019 to 2021 was one of 16 future train stations nationwide where Deutsche Bahn tested new concepts and services. The station has been designed to be more beautiful and modern in its entirety, from the reception hall to the platform, said the CEO of DB Station
Coburg's Lord Mayor Dominik Sauerteig emphasized that the station has given a great first impression since the renovation. According to his own statement, the SPD politician hopes that the award will have a positive effect on Coburg's ICE connection. The city is on the Munich - Berlin route, but by no means all connections stop in Coburg. A spokeswoman explained that one would like to see more stopping ICE trains in the future.
The non-profit alliance Pro-Rail Alliance has been awarding the prize since 2004. With Coburg, the title goes to Bavaria for the seventh time, followed by Hesse with five and Lower Saxony with four award-winning train stations. The winners of the past years were Cottbus, Altötting and Bad Bentheim.
For the ten-strong jury, cleanliness, information for travelers, integration into the city, building architecture and shopping opportunities play a role, among other things. The connection to local and long-distance traffic is not included in the rating, it said. In some years there were special prizes, but this will not be the case in 2022.
(This article was first published on Wednesday, August 24, 2022.)
