International Railway Journal - July 2008 - (Page 46)

Train interiors Train interiors by MBD Design. Top: The SNCF ‘Teoz’ first-class coach features partitions to visually break-up the interior. Middle: The refurbished TGV secondclass coach reflects the trend towards personalised space. Below: Korea’s KTX II has enveloping headrests for greater privacy. a growing tendency to give passengers an enclosed sphere of individual space, while also ensuring they remain visible for security reasons. Unpopular as it may be among some operators, the trend to more individuality is deeply-rooted and should not be ignored. A cursory glance at aircraft design shows the return of individual cabins (albeit only in longhaul first class), which would have been considered impossible or at least irrelevant just a few years ago. As the range of accessories, equipment and comforts in the average private motor car continues to expand, rail passengers expect trains to offer more and more opportunities to tailor their individual space. Consider that on a train, there is no dashboard or driving equipment to keep you occupied. Everything the train operator can offer you is in your seat, or in the back of the seat in front of you. This might mean the passenger wants to adjust their immediate surroundings to optimise personal comfort, perhaps through personal modifications, thereby providing a subconscious feeling of security and partial ownership. A key element to this feeling of real comfort and the search for individuality is the seat headrest, which is becoming deeper and more enveloping. Primarily this provides more lateral comfort, but the visual result is to hide the passenger away at eye level from his or her immediate surroundings. This helps to explain the current popularity of shell-like seats and deep cushions. To be comfortable, passengers may also feel the need to physically influence and adapt the immediate environment - a good headrest will not only offer the right ergonomic support, but will allow some individual adjustment to your own taste or physical specificities. The footrest can be raised or lowered, and, typically in most Asian countries, will have to be adjustable in reach and rake. Small shelves will be articulated, telephone holders will be of a foldable type. The only reason for modifying your immediate environment is to bring a feeling of greater comfort, even if it doesn’t offer ergonomic improvement. IRJ July 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of International Railway Journal - July 2008

International Railway Journal - July 2008 Contents This Month News Transit News Market News/Technology News News Analysis Conference Report Korean Railways Face a Bright Future Korean Exports Surge Ahead Ready to Roll in China Velaro Shows Eastern Promise Are You Sitting Comfortably? Compin Meets New Challenges The Fabric of Society Grinding Out a Result Rendezvous Full Contact List The Last Word

International Railway Journal - July 2008

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