RSSB has launched a new Stations Hub designed to make it easier for rail professionals to find, understand and apply the standards governing station design across the GB network.
The new online resource brings station-related standards and guidance together in one place, addressing concerns that designers can face difficulties navigating requirements spread across different organisations, documents and regulatory frameworks.
Its development follows research by Arup, commissioned by RSSB and Network Rail, which highlighted challenges around finding, navigating and applying station standards.
Alongside the Hub, RSSB has developed a suite of new and updated Rail Industry Standards covering areas including station infrastructure, lighting, wayfinding, facilities and the critical interface between platforms, track and trains.
Making station standards easier to navigate
The Stations Hub is intended to act as a single point of reference for designers, bringing together relevant standards regardless of who produced them, where they originated or whether they are specific to the railway.
Users can search through the requirements using either a Filter or Matrix view, allowing standards to be identified and cross-referenced more easily.
Information about individual standards is provided within the platform, together with a route to the original source. RSSB notes that external credentials may still be required to access some standards.
Importantly, the Hub does not remove the need for designers to understand the regulatory status and application of individual requirements. It includes a station-specific version of the railway standards framework to help users understand the regulatory context surrounding the documents they are consulting.
For design teams working across multiple disciplines, the approach could reduce time spent establishing which requirements are relevant while providing a clearer route through the standards landscape.
New standards support consistent station design
The Hub is supported by five new or updated Rail Industry Standards.
These cover station infrastructure; station lighting; wayfinding and tactile navigation; station facilities; and the interface between station platforms, track, trains and buffer stops.
Together, RSSB says they provide designers with a clearer and more consistent framework for developing safe, accessible and efficient stations.
That has relevance across everything from major station redevelopment programmes to smaller accessibility and infrastructure schemes, where designers must often consider requirements spanning passenger movement, operational safety, accessibility, lighting, facilities and the platform-train interface.
The platform also links to other RSSB resources, including its Platform Train Interface Risk Assessment Tool.
Lessons from completed projects
RSSB has gone beyond creating a standards directory by incorporating case studies into the Hub.
These are intended to capture lessons from completed GB station projects and provide examples of how standards can be applied when designers encounter more complicated scenarios.
That could prove particularly useful where compliance is not simply a matter of applying an individual requirement, but involves balancing different operational, engineering, accessibility and site constraints.
Sharing experience from completed schemes also provides an opportunity to reduce the amount of knowledge that remains confined to individual projects and design teams.
AI search among future developments
RSSB intends to continue developing the Stations Hub as more projects and standards emerge.
Further case studies will be added using experience from recently completed stations, while standards will be monitored to ensure their status and relevance to station design remains current.
RSSB is also exploring additional functionality, including an AI-powered search capability that could allow designers to ask more complex questions when navigating the standards landscape.
For the rail industry, the value of the Hub will ultimately depend on whether it makes standards easier to apply in live projects rather than simply easier to find.
Station design sits at the intersection of infrastructure, trains, operations, accessibility and passenger experience, creating a substantial range of requirements for project teams to navigate. Bringing those requirements, their regulatory context and practical lessons from previous schemes into one environment is intended to reduce that complexity and help designers reach informed decisions more efficiently.
As investment continues in new and upgraded stations across the network, the Stations Hub provides the industry with a more structured route through the standards that shape how those projects are designed and delivered.
