EUROPE: A ‘groundbreaking’ concept for high-capacity overnight trains has been unveiled by Škoda Group. Developed by designers in the Austrian arm of the company, the ‘Sleep in Motion’ proposal features a double-deck coach with pairs of single-berth cubicles stacked one above the other on each side of a central corridor on the lower deck, with a similar layout offering a further set of cubicles below the roof on the upper deck.
Škoda says that the recently-patented ‘revolutionary design’ features ‘optimised bed geometry’ with non-rectangular bunks positioned at an angle to the coach sidewalls.
The cubicles or pods are just 90 cm high and include a window for each passenger that is designed to serve as an emergency exit. Mattresses shaped to fit the cubicles would be 200 cm long and up to 85 cm wide.
Limited space for luggage is provided in each cubicle, but the main luggage storage space would be in separate lockers below the cubicles. Each cubicle would provide personal lighting, charging sockets and ‘other features for high comfort’.
Škoda says that the layout ‘provides the privacy of business class combined with the efficiency of super-economy class’. Illustrations suggest that each double-deck coach could include a small seating area upstairs at one end. Some vehicles could offer more conventional sleeping or couchette compartments, together with space for bicycles or large items of luggage adjacent to the stairs at the end of a car.
Martin Zsifkovits, Managing Director of Škoda Group Austria, said that ‘our new night train concept is a strong example of our ability to innovate, but we see it as just the beginning. What we’ve created is a prototype that showcases a new direction for night train travel, but we remain committed to refining and improving it.’
He said that the company was gathering feedback from passengers and stakeholders to ‘help us perfect the design to meet both operator and traveller expectations’.
Jan Harder, Škoda’s President, Region North & West, said that the concept ‘enhances comfort and privacy without sacrificing capacity. We believe this concept is a real game-changer for the night train sector, making rail travel more appealing and sustainable … we are already actively offering this solution to our customers’.
The concept was developed by Wilhelm Berbig from Škoda’s Austrian office as part of a company innovation challenge. A mock-up of the design was shown at InnoTrans.
