Spoorbeeld

Spoorbeeld is the design policy of the rail sector. That policy extends from trains and platforms to the station arrivals and reception area and surroundings. Spoorbeeld aims at an unambiguous and recognisable rail visual identity for the benefit of the passengers. The current policy is focused on the trains and the stations, but the Netherlands Rail Agency (Bureau Spoormeester) wanted to broaden this vision to include the relation of stations and tracks to the city and the countryside. In close cooperation with Must, we have developed a vision for the rail and station environment for the entire Dutch rail network: 3,000 km of track and 286 stations in an urban or rural setting.

In thinking about the future of rail, attention is paid to the perspective of both passengers and outside observers. The vision of rail and its environment in the city and the countryside is summed up in the following basic principles:

1. The clean, thin, autonomous line – the railway interacts with the underlying landscape as little as possible. This is the best way to enhance the clarity, legibility and identity of that underlying landscape.

2. The railway as guest in city and countryside – the railway behaves as a good guest should: with modesty and good manners. It disturbs its host as little as possible and where there is contact, it proceeds harmoniously.

3. The clean, thin, autonomous line – the railway interacts with the underlying landscape as little as possible. This is the best way to enhance the clarity, legibility and identity of that underlying landscape.The passenger is in the front row: passengers have maximal and unfiltered contact with the countryside through which they are passing and can see the front, back and interior of the landscape.

An important aspect of a train journey is the experience of the city and the countryside. This seems obvious, but it is not uncommon for elements beside the rails to obstruct the view and to flash by a short distance away. Sometimes a track passes near remarkable landscapes or areas of natural beauty. By extending them down to the rails, their quality can be conveyed to the passengers, who are thereby given the very best view.