One of the three creative workshop mentors, Anagha Mujumdar-Potbhare, Assistant Manager of the London architecture firm AECOM Design + Planning, said the aim of the workshop was to offer ideas that would form a basis for getting the project going. It will be a huge challenge to implement a complex plan, but it is a hopeful sign that the principal partners – “Lithuanian Railways” and Vilnius City Council – are involved in the project right from the start.
Anagha Mujumdar-Potbhare went on to say: “Usually we are not so fortunate as to have such good conditions. With all partners involved in the project right from the start, we can be sure that the necessary decisions will be made on time. The project can be implemented successfully and it may even become an example of how such projects should be developed”.
Trains can compete with air travel
This expert in the field of architecture said that it is important to find solutions, because trains can compete with air travel.
“Railways are a somewhat more sustainable means of transport, less polluting, and these days these things are important to an ever-growing percentage of the population, who are concerned about protecting the environment. Given the lengthy security procedures at airports, train travel is more convenient, especially if one is travelling with children. The travel time is competitive, especially if one factors in how much time is spent at the airports before and after the flight,” the mentor said after the workshop.
A. Mujumdar-Potbhare was in no doubt that fast trains will give people new choices when choosing their mode of travel. Rail Baltica will bring to Vilnius many international visitors from Germany, Poland or the other Baltic countries, and their impression of our railway station will matter.
The railway station – the city’s showpiece
A. Mujumdar-Potbhare, who has worked for more than 16 years on architecture and urbanistic projects in Europe, China, the Middle East and India, says that the railway station needs to reflect the city’s character and identity.
“When people travel by train, they always remember the good stations they have visited, and their environment. Of course, they remember the bad ones, too. Since one of the most important memories that people associate with a city is how the railway station was, it is essential that all visitors, whether residents of Lithuania or tourists from abroad, have a pleasant experience at Vilnius railway station and in the surrounding area.
There is no single solution that is suitable for all situations. It is essential to consider what is unique about the city. There are general principles that need to be assessed: functionality, the volume of passengers and trains. But there is much that is individual: the natural environment, the habits of the local townspeople and their attitude to public spaces,” says the creative workshop mentor.
As an architect, she commented on the innate nature of the station and the surrounding area, as a unique public meeting space.
“Already we see people in Vilnius railway station sitting in the public area reading books. They want to socialise, to talk to people, to find out what’s going on where. This should spur us into action to provide more services for people in the station area,” she said.
A. Mujumdar-Potbhare said that there are already encouraging examples in the area around the Vilnius railway station.
Interests of residents must be considered for successful reorganisation
The workshop mentor team was joined by mobility expert Lucas London, who has spent the past 15 years working on various mobility projects, including the New York Trade Centre mobility centre and the Shanghai fast train station.
He explained that new large-scale infrastructure is required for Vilnius railway station, which would enable it to cope with the planned volumes.
“Local residents complain, always and everywhere, about large-scale construction work in their neighbourhood; therefore, it is very important to include them in discussions and to find suitable solutions. It could be that a lot of the infrastructure should go underground, leaving room for many public spaces such as parks and other things that local residents might desire. Successful project implementation requires finding a balance between the town plan, the wishes of local residents, and investors’ interests in seeing the project through.
The important thing here is for “Lithuanian Railways” and Vilnius City Council to provide leadership, in order to present an acceptable vision, and to create an environment that it’s welcoming to investors, offering solutions for creation of new necessary infrastructure and providing for the needs of city dwellers and guests,” said the expert.
Lucas London went on to say that a solution acceptable to all parties might be vertical development of the territory.
“Although there may be cheaper solutions, they would use up more land. Furthermore, they may be short-term solutions, and 20 years later we may be asking why we didn’t build more modern roads, and higher buildings, thus saving public land,” the creative workshop participant said.
Public transport synergy
Lucas London, an expert on urban expansion, went on to explain how these days there is a tendency for dialogue among providers of various forms of transport to find shared solutions to mobility issues: “There is dialogue about synergy that would enable the provision of better services for the client, and discussion of how to achieve this. We have seen these tendencies in other cities, and I don’t doubt that they are relevant here. Vilnius needs to think about the fact that travellers do not want to have to get separate tickets; they want to buy just one ticket for travel from point A to point B. If they need to catch a bus after getting out of the train, they want to purchase just one ticket, maybe on their mobile telephone, with clear instruction how and where to transfer from train to bus.”
The Vilnius railway station creative workshop mentor was pleased that all the interested parties are demonstrating openness in regard to implementation of the changes.
“If I had to say who needs to try harder, I would say it is the bus station company. The bus station needs to understand what potential it sits on, what traveller volumes (both international and local) are planned, and to foresee what its role is in the overall development of the area. Because bus networks are no less important than railways. People need buses to get to the railway station, and from the railway station to their destinations; both elements are inseparable. I’m sure that the reorganisation process will encompass both,” Lucas London said.
Reorganisation of the railway station should join the two sides of town
A third mentor taking part in the workshop was urbanist Jerryt Krombeen, who has more than 10 years of experience working in the town planning field and lecturing at Amsterdam’s Academy of Architecture. Lately he has been working at the Hamerkwartier Territory Transformation Project in Amsterdam, where he was responsible for producing a functional space plan for the 50-hectare territory.
According to him, an important task in the reorganisation of the Vilnius railway station should be to join the two sides of town adjacent to the railway station.
J. Krombeen says: “The railway station is an obstacle that splits the town into two parts, which should be communicating. There are already access points for automobiles, but these are for cars only, on both sides of the railway station. These crossing points are definitely too far out of the way for pedestrians. What’s needed is a bridge or a tunnel for pedestrians; but a tunnel would be the more expensive option and the public are not always keen to use them.”
The urbanist agrees that the biggest challenge in the project is the amount of expensive resources required for implementing the plan – open spaces and access points to the two parts of town on opposite sides of the railway station. Such investments require a hefty budget; but areas in the project that could be potential money-earners are limited. According to J. Krombeen, solving the financial issues associated with such a project will be an interesting experience, which may be of use to other countries later.
J. Krombeen stated further: “In such a project it is inevitable that there will be tension between the public interest and the interests of real estate developers. For such a project to be successful, it is necessary to make sure that the public interest does not suffer due to the interests of the private sector. The municipal authorities, the residents, the railway company all have to unite in seeking a quality solution, one which will still satisfy after 50 years. I think this is already happening, and this workshop at the railway station is a sign of it.”
The creative workshop participant explained that the railway station environment reorganisation project is not the sole responsibility of the railway company, and the responsibility must be shared by the municipal authorities and the owners of land and premises in the vicinity. He is of the opinion that: “The municipal authorities need to invest in the project. I think we need to make use of this opportunity when many people and organisations are prepared to invest in a common goal, to use it as a catalyst for creating a truly interesting and life-filled space.”
The urban specialist added that because of the complexity of the project, it will have to be implemented in stages; and he pointed out that developing the station while it continues to operate will not be easy. “An ever-increasing number of people will continue to visit the station. This is an enormous challenge, but in Holland we have implemented more than one similar project. All the railway stations there were reconstructed without stopping their operation. I think it will be the same in Vilnius. Therefore, I’m an optimist,” added J. Krombeen.
