Leading transport summit pioneer, RedCabin, in partnership with the Rail Interiors Show from Mark Allen Group, recently announced the results of the 2024 Rail Interiors Awards as part of the RedCabin rail summit in Essen, Germany.
The Rail Interior Awards celebrate innovation across the rail interiors industry. Awards are judged against strict criteria including how likely it is that the concept becomes a reality, cost reduction, efficiency improvement, sustainability and – most importantly – the concept’s ability to improve the passenger experience in a train cabin. Comprising seven categories, each focuses on specific engineering or design disciplines. The trophy is designed by zweigrad Design and produced by Sekisui Kydex.
Innovation and Project Collaboration
Recognising innovations that elevate passenger comfort and the overall travel experience through breakthrough design, the winner of the Design Innovation of the Year category is the ‘seats and hotel pods’ from Luna Rail, whose designs enable passengers to experience a new generation of trains that optimise space usage, comfort and economics.
Celebrating the power of partnerships that bring new ideas and products to life is a huge part of breaking down barriers within the industry, allowing new ideas to come to the fore and showcase solutions that create innovative and stylish rail carriages.
The winner of the category Project Collaboration of the Year is the ‘Long Distance Rail Seating Concept’ from Recaro, tangerine and Umlaut. RECARO’s multi-class seating concept offers ergonomic comfort and modular design for cost efficiency, with optimal comfort through advanced ergonomics and enhanced privacy.
“It has been great seeing all the suppliers coming together and such innovation coming from the projects. Successes like these are vital to push the rail interiors industry forward faster and improve the passenger experience.”
Technology in the Cabin
Honouring cutting-edge technologies that transform the way we experience rail travel, the Technological Innovation of the Year award went to ACTIA and Eyelights with their ‘On-board Micro Projection Technology’, which has transformed the passenger information display system by introducing high-brightness compact projectors.
With the categories highlighting the newest and boldest of cabin designs that optimise customer journey experience and comfort, the New Cabin of the Year award celebrates those who through innovative design and technology, focus on delivering the best passenger experience while also focusing on sustainability and new ideas. The winner is Škoda Group for its ForCity Smarty Bonn tram, the ultimate in urban mobility by seamlessly integrating advanced safety, ergonomic features and accessibility while delivering spacious interiors and durable seating to provide a comfortable and modern transit experience.
Comfortable Concepts
As rail continues to embrace new designs, technologies and practices, the sector is always setting new standards for what excellence looks like with the future of the industry remaining bright. The Concept of the Year award was won by Hitachi and N+P Innovation Design GmbH for their collaboration on its AT-Flex – Visions of the Future project, which aims to create a comfortable and personalised train commuting experience through its modular interior design for commuter trains of the future.
Recognising excellence in rail cabin design, and providing enhanced experiences for passengers on long journeys, The winner of Rail Cabin of the Year is ÖBB NightJet Sleeper trains, which boasts speeds of up to 230km/h and the ability to travel across multiple European cities overnight all without sacrificing safety or comfort. With modern features and individualised spaces, such as the sleeper car, this sleeper train makes the journey even more pleasant for its passengers.
Above Expectations
The Visionary of the Year award, voted for by fellow jury members, recognised an individual who has demonstrated exceptional foresight, innovation, and leadership in their field. This year, the winner is Jim Mathews, President and CEO Rail Passengers Association, a non-profit organisation that advocates for improved transportation safety and accessibility. He serves on six U.S. Federal government advisory panels and testifies before Congressional committees and regulatory agencies.
“Congratulations to all the winners in this year's awards, once again the feedback from the industry has gone above our expectations and all the innovations have been fantastic. Rail operators, design houses, OEMs and suppliers continue to push boundaries, and seeing these efforts recognised is great for the industry.”
Collaboration Driving Innovation
The Rail Interiors Awards celebrate both excellence and innovation, with an expert jury judging each concept against strict criteria.
“It has been another successful year for the Rail Interiors Awards, with the concepts making for a hugely enjoyable and engaging judging process. The award winners can be proud of their achievements. Rail is one of the most enjoyable and sustainable forms of travel. These awards recognise the huge importance of innovation for the passenger experience and rail travel, and our partnership with the Rail Interiors Show creating and promoting these awards helps ensure the importance of rail interiors remains front of mind.”
RedCabin summits are widely recognised in the transport industry as a place for new innovation. From shaping the future of sustainable travel to new seat and cabin designs to unveiling innovation in colour, materials and finish (CMF), global innovators in rail interiors repeatedly choose to launch new products and concepts to the industry at RedCabin events.
This article was originally published by The Jargon Group on behalf of RedCabin.
