4.3. Station renovation reference system

Most of the time, when a public transport company plans the building or renovation of a station, the assignment is tendered to architects and engineering companies who submit projects based on the station plans and general instructions. The best project is selected on various economic, technical and aesthetical criteria. If not integrated from the very beginning of the process, sustainable considerations may prove expensive and interfere with the initial project. This may lead to extra costs or cause delays to the delivery of the project.

The T2K project recommends developing a referential document synthesising all the recommendations on environmental concerns. Certification schemes exist for refurbishment as well (e.g. BREEAM refurbishment). The goals of such a reference document are:

  • To assist design teams and management to design sustainable metro and light-rail stations
  • To submit forms and relevant measures with clear measurable objectives that support the renovations to improve the sustainable approach for stations
  • To give a performance score in the sustainable strategy from qualitative assessment measures
  • To reference good practice, advice and recommendations within the sustainable metro and pre-metro stations for the measures concerned as guidance in the design process and management.
Three potential levels of use can be considered:
  • Minimum: tool for self-management of the operator and the authority, which serves as internal guidance and support to make decisions in various stages of the renovation of a station
  • Medium: internal self-management tool to potentially obtain a certification of environmental per- formance. In this case, an auditor would verify the results afterwards
  • Maximum: internal self-management tool with the presence of an auditor to give advice and check the results at each stage. This can be required to obtain a certification of environmental performance.