Nightsleeper, Redesign the interior space of a nighttrain

Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart

Project idea

The theoretical part of this master’s thesis deals in depth with the history of night trains. The history of night trains began in Germany more than 150 years ago. At that time, using a night train was considered an exclusive way to travel and was popular among the upper classes. Later, this form of travel became more commercial and expanded continuously.

The aim of the work is to create a coherent overall design that not only meets today‘s expectations and needs of travellers and is adapted to specific user requirements, but at the same time meets a high standard of interior design by using traditional construction methods typical of rail vehicle construction and thinking them through further.
In the conceptual part there will be three different interior typologies for night train carriages developed. These will be dimensioned and planned to fit the same type of European double-decker coach. The conceptual development of three interiors is thus intended to cover all the spatial requirements that arise during a stay on a night train and to adapt them in terms of design to the respective user conditions.

Project description

Based on this, a design for a night train and its three different car categories will be developed in the conceptual part. The sleeping car and its spatial conditions will be examined in detail. The bistro and bar car and the seating car will also be considered. The central question in this thesis is how night trains can be an attractive alternative to air travel or individual transport, especially for business travellers. The central questions in the thesis are how trains should be designed in a contemporary and modern way in terms of interior architecture in order to improve the important factor of quality of stay, and at the same time how this can be
adapted to today‘s standards and technical conditions in order to generate a higher attractiveness in this travel sector.
This is a conceptual work that addresses real requirements and documents a night train concept and the development process through in- novative approaches.

Technical information

In addition to the historical background, this section will also clarify the theoretical and technical basics of rail vehicles, take a current look at rail and night train traffic, and analyse design references for the interior of trains. Different types of trains and special interior features are examined in detail. In addition, parallels will be drawn with other comparable forms of mobility and their differences will be identified.

Documentation

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