Smart City Hubs // 25th May 2012 at Excel, London

Railway hubs were at the heart of this year’s conference based at London’s ExCeL. FOSD explored how integrated they are within their geographical location and the other transport modes. We explored how all hubs can work closer together with share information systems, better facilities for a more seamless passenger experience. The morning of the conference concentrated on hub design, passenger flow, retail and support management. This year, with the guidance and direction of Atos and our other steering committee members from First Group, Crossrail, SSP, RailMedia and Atkins we looked at a wide range of services and procedures that enhance journey satisfaction. FOSD wanted to continue to explore the fact that all hubs can have a major impact on the towns and cities that they serve, often acting as regional gateways, helping to stimulate economic growth and attract businesses. Now in its third year FOSD continues to be one of the UK’s leading networking opportunities for companies involved in Hub design. This years conference brought together key industry operators who are vital for setting the transformation stage for the topics covered below. We would like to thanks our chair Mike Goggin our speakers, steering committee and panellists for their advice along with our sponsors Atos, Garrandale and Merson Signs.

• The Key themes Covered During the 2012 FOSD Smart City Hubs Conference

  • Hubs in the UK and as Global Gateways
  • Community and Rural Hubs
  • City Centre Hubs
  • Where Next?

  Hubs in the UK and as Global Gateways
  With industry leaders in full attendance, the panellists recruited for this section were some of the most respected within the sector. With the validity and future of all UK airports in question at the moment, this proved to be a heated discussion and huge questions including, the design of these hubs, the impact they have, and the management of them were asked at the very highest levels.

  Community and Rural Hubs
  With representatives from local government, TOC’S and lead design companies, this panel explored the hubs within the UK that may not make the front pages of newspapers or news reports but do facilitate the journeys of a great many of us here today. Our panellists answered questions on what can be done to improve their offer, their design, the preservation of their architectural merit and their ease and accessibility.

  City Centre Hubs
  The debate continued on how to best serve passengers whilst keeping to timetables and national schedules. We all want clean and vandalism free trains and stations, and this panel examined what steps can be made to combat this. The Way Finding issues that confront us daily were addressed in this section along with the question of maintenance.

  Where Next?
  This panel featured key personalities who can and most probably will affect change within their respective industries. The panel’s main role was to field questions on how technical innovation can improve the overall passenger experience. Extending the station experience onto the train/plane and the constant question of real time information. The panel also highlight how better connectivity can lead to better journeys.