Train of the Future

Experience Focused Design Research into Meaningful Time Spending on the Train

About 750.000 people travel by train on a daily basis. They spend an average of two times fifty minutes on the train. Within the next years the amount of people and the amount of time people spend on the train will increase. How daily passengers experience their journey has a significant effect on their well-being. The train is therefore a relevant public space. There is a lot of research in terms of customer satisfaction, however these studies are less focused on how the passengers spent their time on the train and how the interior of the train could improve the passengers experience. Within this thesis a method for an interactive group interview is developed on basis of research techniques applied in Human Centered Design and Design Fiction. Through the means of these interactive group interviews, this thesis tries to answer how we can design the interior of the train so that people perceive their spent time as valuable. For the analysis of these interviews three concepts are used: activities, atmospheres and affordances. With help of these concepts guidelines could be formulated for the design of the interior of the train. The study shows that participants foremost like to engage in activities that can be qualified as transitional activities. In order to support these activities a calm and relaxing atmosphere should be facilitated. Besides that this study shows there is also a demand for areas in the train that encourage social interaction. The guidelines formulated in this thesis can be used as starting point for designing the interior of the train in regard to facilitate transitional activities, social interaction and some more general aspects. However this study is primarily focused on the passenger experience. Other relevant aspects such as financial or technical feasibility are not taken into account using this method and are therefore relevant themes for further research.