Are you sitting comfortably?

Rail passengers expect to find a level of refinement and comfort in modern rail vehicles that they would find in their own car. Stephane Pottier of MBD Design, France, explains how passengers’ individual preferences can be accommodated on intercity trains.

SEATS are a key element in any passenger transport system. To be transported comfortably for any length of time means finding a reasonably ergonomic position, be it sitting or lying.

Obviously, travel duration is a key factor through which the level of comfort will be measured and adjusted, other parameters being the cost of the solution and adaptation to specific constraints such as resistance to vandalism.

Seat design within any vehicle has always been a matter of relationship between the individual, their personal space, and their broader surroundings. Old horse-drawn carriages had just very simple bench seats, immediately accessible from outside. Later on, closed compartments became the natural solution for keeping out draughts, rain and cold, though retaining the face-to-face layout directly inherited from the traditional stagecoach. Evolution to the railway coach has been a long process, with an incessant battle between preferences for compartments and open seating.

The tendency to bring more individuality to the seat came mostly through the coach layout, as the rather monotonous vision of more than 20 rows of identical seats led designers to consider how they could bring more intimacy to train interiors. There is now 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 long-haul 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.

	As technological advances change the way we live, passengers demand more from train interiors.

We have so far identified two main trends that will influence the interior design of future main line and high-speed trains, both linked to the same mental process: tailoring individual space to obtain the best possible comfort and an “at home” feeling, and, more subconsciously, the need to create a security bubble of personal space within a potentially unpredictable environment. Of course, this will be a compromise, counterbalanced by the basic needs of ergonomics, security, and reasonable accessibility of the seats. Cocoons, carefully isolated from the rest of the coach are unlikely to be viable proposition for passenger trains.

As in recent aircraft business-class designs, you could imagine solutions involving articulated canopies or sliding partitions, once again allowing more intimacy within a public space. Prams or pushchairs show such interesting hinged canopies to protect against wind and rain. Some rail users would doubtless appreciate a similar “high-tech” device, incorporating visual and sound insulation, some video screens and sound systems, this time just to be protected against other fellow travellers. Ideally, these insulation devices could be configured to create small groups of two, three, or four seats, thereby re-creating the traditional compartment. However, as always in railway design, the overall capacity of the coach is a key consideration for financially-sound operation, and also for available space and resulting seat pitch. Achieving a balance between the needs of the passenger and the needs of the business is the tricky part.

Another important consideration is the “visual welcome” concept. This means that the coach should not only be comfortable, but should appear visually inviting from the moment the passenger steps through the door. Just think of the visual promise of a soft crumpled pillow, instead of the traditional plastic-trimmed headrest...

A visually comfortable passenger environment should look like a protective cocoon, a place packed with equipment, tables, storage and visible ergonomic adjustments everywhere. Moreover, two or more seats could be combined as “collective cocoons”, to recreate the welcome intimacy offered by the once-common compartment.

Upholstery should look plush, with inviting shapes. Passengers want to be able to adjust their sitting position during their journey.

Around the seat, the surrounding fittings could be considered just as a kind of display-case, enhancing the beauty and sophistication of the furniture.

Lighting is an important matter that will be the focus of many new developments in the coming years. The rapid development of new diminutive light sources as the powerful and maintenance-free LEDs allow precise and efficient integration within the seat itself, once again offering better control and comfort. Other technological advances such as wi-fi internet access are also offering new possibilities to enhance the passenger’s immediate environment.

Of course all the above are counterbalanced by the constraints that make industrial design interesting - security, costs, resistance to vandalism, wear and tear. We try to add more comfort and create equipment that will do the most to enhance the travel experience, and make the traveller feel that he’s been right in the middle of the creation process.