Students Design New Wooden Shelter For Rural Railway Stations

The winning design, which is already being prepared for installation in Karlovy Vary. Photo: Sprava Zeleznic.

Brno, Apr 11 (BD) – Students of the Faculty of Forestry and Woodwork of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague have designed a new type of shelter for railway stations, which will be used on the railway network. A recently concluded competition, held by the Railway Administration, asked students to design a new type of wooden shelter for protected landscape areas and for places where it is appropriate to preserve the natural character of the station area.

“The aim of the competition was to motivate students to actively participate in changing the perception of railways and to promote the use of wood as the main construction material for stops,” said the Railway Administration in a press release.

Six three-member teams entered the competition, which also included students from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague. In their works, the students had to comply with the assignment specifications, which included guidelines on dimensions and construction costs. It had to be a wooden building with sufficient free space inside for wheelchair users, a lockable display case for passenger information, and transparent sides allowing passengers a view of the track and arriving trains. The front side could be covered, but not in such a way that it prevented comfortably entering and exiting the waiting room.

The authors of the proposals also had to take into account that their shelters could be located in any part of the Czech Republic and therefore must be able to withstand demanding weather conditions, such as those in mountains or in protected locations.

The expert committee recognized the wooden shed designed by the trio of Alexandra Horáčková, Michaela Andrlová and Jan Rous as the best design. The members of the winning team received a three-month paid internship at the Railway Administration, and their shelter is already being prepared for implementation in Karlovy Vary.

All the competition proposals are on display to the public until the end of April in the Railway Administration’s information centre in Prague main railway station, located in the lower part of the check-in hall. They will then move to the information centre in Ústí nad Labem’s main railway station. Afterwards, the proposals will be on display at the Rail Business Days fair in Ostrava, which will take place on 5-7 June 2023.

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