London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has partnered with Tom Cheesewright, the Applied Futurist, to predict how the Train of the Future could look in 2075.
The results were presented in the LNER Train of the Future exhibition at London King’s Cross station.
As part of the UK’s Railway 200 celebrations, LNER surveyed 2,000 people on what they would like to see on trains 50 years from now. Cinema-style onboard entertainment (36%), wellness pods (23%) and onboard nap pods (23%) topped responses. Pre-programmed smart seats (22%) and designated pet zones (21%) followed.
Cheesewright predicts that in 2075, train carriages could be focused on maximum comfort, entertainment and wellness. Not merely about getting between places, train travel would be transformed into a holistic experience promoting passenger health and wellbeing.
The Train of the Future could include floor-to-ceiling windows providing 360-degree views of the landscape. An augmented reality layer, adding surreal scenes and gamification options, could please the 60% of passengers who say they need constant entertainment while travelling.
New materials combined with technologies such as 3D-printed metals would allow for trains of the future to be lighter, stronger and stiffer, reaching high speeds using less energy than today.
According to Cheesewright, new levels of customer convenience could be in place, such as facial recognition technology replacing ticket barriers.
Having some time to sit back and relax is a top benefit of train travel for 44% of passengers and the introduction of smart seats could take customer comfort to the next level.
Each seat could adjust to a customer’s microenvironment, setting the temperature and seat firmness according to pre-saved preferences. There could even be the option to book safe standing treadmill seats, giving travellers the chance to get their steps in on long journeys.
Cheesewright said: “The train journey of the future will be smooth from start to finish, aided by AI planning, ticketless travel and floor-to-ceiling windows.”
Rachel Pope, Head Of Digital Experience Strategy at LNER, said: “From taking our beautiful views to the next level, to high-tech innovations in comfort and catering, through to continuing to drive sustainability in our sector – the possibilities shared by our futurologist are exciting.”
