I was reminded of this famous line from the 1983 movie, Risky Business recently when METRO put out a “Tweet” asking people what fantasy feature we would want incorporated into the METRO.
People responded to the request on METRO’S Facebook page with things like:
a ticker or some screens for news.
display how many minutes till the next train arrives.
Integration with Google Transit.
mobile applications.
Wi-fi.
Those are some good ideas. In fact, other than a “private car” complete with kitchen and bar, those are probably the things I hear most often when talking to people about our light rail system.
Without a doubt, I have met a lot of transit fans over the past couple of years and have had some fun discussions on how light rail or transit systems can be more effective. I was a bit surprised that no one mentioned the design or functionality of the trains.
This brings me to my next question… Would you like to have a say in the future of light rail or transit design? Are you creative?
If you consider yourself a transit geek, you might be interested in a transit design contest being put on by the HYVE Innovation Community in collaboration with Bombardier Transportation. Bombardier is the company that will be providing the “driverless trains” for the super-cool new Sky Train system that will link the Phoenix Light Rail system to Sky Harbor Airport.
The “YouRail – Visions of modern transportation” – online design competition is open from October 26th until December 16th . The objective of the competition is to offer the participants a real community, where they can present and collect new ideas and designs for modern and functional train interiors. Moreover they have the possibility to share their ideas as well as to jointly refine them.
The contest is all about visionary designs that help create a unique new interior of a future train and that satisfy the special needs of different types of passengers (e.g. leisure or business). A highlight is an online configurator by which users can develop their custom-made train seat in 3-D. The monetary prizes and gifts for the winners and most active participants amount to a total in excess of 10,000 Euros. (Yes, Euros… I got this information from my new friend, Wolfgang in Germany!)
The winning design will be presented at the InnoTrans 2010 fair in Berlin, Germany (inclusive travel expenses for arrival and departure).
Basically, if you want to help design the look and feel of modern trains, this is your chance to step up and be heard.
Please see the contest details on their site for all information as Rail Life has nothing to do with it. You can also follow Your Rail Design on Twitter.
So, do YOU like trains?
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