Péter Rózsa: Buildings of the Suburban Railway System in Budapest

Bulletin 2005 Special Issue, p20-23.
Phd and DLA Researches on the Faculty of Architecture
Budapest University of Technlology and Economics

1. Research theme

The crowdedness of Budapest is increasing, that is why the project of a suburban railway system is of primary importance in the capital’s development plan. This project is based mainly on Budapest’s present railway network with its 11+2 incoming lines. Most station-buildings of the actual railway network were planned for long-distance traffic. In my opinion in their present form they are unable to handle the suburban traffic and they cannot meet the up-to-date requirements. The continuously developing railway system needs more modern buildings. In my research I have set myself the task of finding high standard architectural solutions of suburban railway-station buildings in Budapest in order to make this type of transport really attractive.

2. 3D Connections between the station-building and tracks

The station-building and the railway system forms a functional unit, they can only be treated together. A station with through- (transit) traffic rails is the common form in a suburban railway, that is why I will not examine the end-stations. Let us see first the possible location of the station-building: 1. beside the tracks, 2. between tracks (”island-platform”), 3. with tracks (inside the building). The station building can be positioned on the same or a different level: 4. under the level of the tracks, 5. above the level of the tracks (”bridge-like station-building”). Commuter trains always demand at least two tracks. Because of the high platform and for safety reasons crossing the tracks cannot be permitted. Traffic without obstacles is an essential condition of safe quick-pace railway transport. It is the nature of the suburban railway that the pedestrian and railway traffic has to be separated in space. The type of relief and the geometry of tracks can be treated as fixed, and this should be taken into consideration in the design of traffic spaces. Passengers approach the platforms through 1. a subway or 2. over a footbridge (called ”lost height”), and we distinguish 3. the high track, which is usual for sections of the suburban railway in the town centre. If the height of the platform is about 60 (57.5) cms, lost height will be 4.o meters for subways (-3.4 m) and 5.4 meters for footbridges (6.0 m). I included the before mentioned categories together in a chart, disregarding the possible applications. I evaluated the different variations from various points of view, and eliminated the cases which contain logical errors. After that I arranged the variations in pictographs. (see picture on the right)

Linking corridor zones regulate the stream of passengers. The basic criterion of suburban traffic is reaching the destination quickly and comfortably. The rational and shortest way makes it possible for the passenger to suffer the smallest time loss. The linking zones are planned for big traffic several times a day, at the same time they have to show a varied built environment. All studied cases have got different architectural and space-organizing characteristics. When designing suburban station-buildings, the linking zones and waiting- rooms will have to be arranged to reflect the changed function.

3. Experiences from the present station-buildings

When designing new station buildings one has to take into account the experiences of the present cases and modern demands, too. They can show, which space elements are accepted and which are rejected by users. A station-building can become a symbol of a region through architectural expression and its role in the region. If the station-building is right for this, it can become a significant meeting place, too.For this purpose it has to express clearly, that it is not homogeneus with its surroundings, it is recognizable easily, and it serves as a certain orienteering point. Unfortunately, there are a lot of structures in the vicinity of our suburban railway stations, which cannot be regarded as a custom-designed place. Many roofless platforms of suburban stations or ”bus-stop”-structures established on platforms cannot play this important role.

The station-buildings have to manage a significant amount of passenger traffic. In terms of passenger traffic the process of arriving and departure is a well-predictable action, which becomes routine in the commuter traffic. People who use the P+R system want to know their vehicles are in safety that regards property and condition. Besides the environmental quality it is basically important to define the spatial limits of the station and parking-places. The station’s foreground has to be free from other through traffic, to avoid crowdedness, unnecessary loss of time and discomfort for the passangers. In the foreground of the station the influence of other structures, which were not set into the context of the architectural surroundings, is unfavourable and disturbing, because in this area it is necessary to have a clear idea of the space and map the different room details and furniture.

Because of the rhythmical timetable the place of waiting is much more connected to the platforms. The waiting hall loses its importance in the station-building, the passenger hall and the platforms will take over its role. The waiting room begins to lose its importance, as according to observations passive waiting is replaced by active waiting. A passanger regards the passive waiting as a waste of time in an unfamiliar place. There are a lot of places in a station which are suitable for waiting. These subjectively different places could be determined according to peoples’ personal and social experiences. The special waiting rooms (eg. waiting hall for students) can get a new interpretation in the case of a modern suburban railway system, so one can eliminate many undesired conflicts.

Establishing a platform-roof is required for modern station-buildings, because it covers the passangers from meteorological effects. According to foreign examples the importance of a train-hall is going to be rediscovered again in the contemporary railway architecture. This protects from both the noise and wind, and it is preferred, because it offers a sense of security. The quality of the space boundaries of a station basically determines the passenger’s personal experience with his environment.The characteristics of railway transport and other design considerations can specify the dimensions of spaces. The kind of space partitions (being open or closed, interesting...) has an effect on the user, what he can perceive from the surroundings and what he thinks about it.

Rooms and furnishing of the station-building are space elements which can be interesting bright spots of the stations, with which the passanger is going to form some emotional attachment. The emotional effect or a typical cognitive picture will become memorized, and this can be added to the passenger’s experiences of the place, which helps him to judge and understand the different spaces.

Touring round the suburban railway stations of Budapest I have noticed how the passangers use and appreciate the different objects. People connect a kind of association with the objects. There certainly exist subjective emotional preferences with regard to shapes, placing or usage, but they cannot be explained clearly. It can be proved that there are some places, which are more suitable and popular for sitting than certain types of benches. What people think of them can be very diverse because of personal experiences, prejudices and social classes, too.

In my study I analyzed in detail the spaces of suburban railway-stations, the rooms and furniture of the station-building and their characteristics. I hope that the raised points will be incorporated in the design of future traffic buildings. If we can create acceptable space conditions, this will make a positive effect on the well-being and travelling mood of many passangers. Thus this kind of transport is going to be really more competitive and attractive.

4. Abandoned industry-halls and the suburban railway-stations

Market conditions demand inexpensive establishing and operation, but appealing to passangers could cost a lot of money. Experiences show the improvement of tracks and the renovation of trains got primary importance in the development of the railway infrastructure, with the development of station-buildings lagging behind. These are often forced and failed architectural solutions in spite of the fact that the passenger uses only this building and forms an opinion of the traffic company on the basis of this. Originally the railway offered favourable transport conditions for the industry establishing in the environs of the capital. Both the market conditions and the structure of the industrial production changed, it moved out of the city. That is why there are avaible lots of funcion-lost industry-areas out of service next to the railway tracks and planned stations, where abandoned industry-halls are awaiting a better destiny. The question arises, if they can be put appropiately in the suburban railway’s service. If yes, it can mean a low-cost way or an alternative intermediate solution to both problems.

Most station-buildings were established beside the tracks, they have a distant connection to the platforms, so the services cannot become an integral part of the station’s life, this is why the customary waiting-room will lose its function. Because of rhythmical timetable and less staff also the traffic control has to get nearer to the platforms. The large transport capacity of the suburban railway is able to give a wider range of service in in the station area than other means of transport. Apart from the well organized P+R and B+R parking systems, other services have to be attracted to the area of a station. A well working station is always full of life, the various architectural spaces are really user-friendly. Unfortunately, in most cases the railway tracks in the capital are a boundary between populated areas neighbouring each other, which people cannot cross. If this boundary splits where the railway-station is, intensive transit-traffic will likely emerge. When this happens, the railway-station can fit into the town’s everyday life. It is attractive for the commercial and service establishments, and at the same time the claims of passengers can be met. The result can be very favourable, because the passengers can find on their everyday route all that could be needed for their daily life. So, the possible loss of time because of changing trains can be compensated with gaining time because the passenger does not need to cover extra distances to arrange this tasks. It is an ideal solution when the shops and services are located on the way between the station-building and the P+R car park. Bearing this in mind the abandoned industry building can be joined to the station building.

In this study I presented the interesting example of the station of Berlin- Storkower Straße. The abandoned (and declared to be protected) industrial halls of the former slaughterhouse in the industry zone (called brown or rust zone) are going to be developed into a well-working architectural group again. All this attracts further investments in the previously run-down area. The industrial buildings are going to be renovated one after another, a succesful servicing and trade centre linked to the suburban railway station is going to be built. The group of buildings and its surrounding is improving spectacularly.

Handling the two architectural questions mentioned before together, there is a possibility to create a really well-working and exciting built environment in the long run by the renovation (saving architectural values) of abandoned industrial buildings in the ”brown-zones”, by giving them a new function releated to the planned suburban railway stations.