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Altötting: a role model for railway stations in rural areas.
Photo: Gabriel Büchelmeier / dpa
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI once described the pilgrimage site Altötting as "the heart of Bavaria and one of the hearts of Europe". Now the station of the district town also seems to be a blessing: Altötting is the station of the year 2020. On Friday the title will be from Transport alliance Allianz pro Schiene awarded in Berlin.
The recently renovated facility shows "an example of the good service train stations can offer their visitors even in rural areas," said Dirk Flege, managing director of the alliance.
The offer for cyclists in particular is "a model for all train stations in Germany and almost unique in Germany for a train station of this size".
Changing rooms and tools for cyclists
Among other things, the jury highlighted the fact that Altötting has a specially set up changing room for cyclists.
In addition, many parking spaces for bicycles are covered, comfortable and safe.
There are charging stations for e-bikes where 95 percent of bike brands can currently be charged with the adapters provided.
There is also a workbench with tools for any repairs.
Other plus points of the station are: A bistro, the connection with bus lines, car sharing and Park and Ride as well as the "carefully and with consideration for the monument protection" renovated building.
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The charging station should be able to supply 95 percent of bicycle brands with electricity via the adapter provided.
Photo: Gabriel Büchelmeier / dpa
Some of the criteria that mobility expert Andreas Knie names for modern train stations apply to Altötting - but the offer does not go far enough for him.
In his opinion, if they want to become the hub of the traffic transition, they have to go further in their offerings in order to meet today's demands.
“Railway stations must see themselves as multimodal arenas,” said Knie.
"They should form a hub that bundles all traffic offers for onward travel."
In addition to buses and trains, these now also include rental scooter services.
No seal of approval without excellent internet
In addition to the transfer, the quality of stay is also decisive.
And for this you need a good broadband connection, i.e. excellent W-LAN - because the modern traveler is digitally on the go.
"In Germany I have not yet found a model station of the future that fulfills all of this," said Knie.
In America and France, for example, the digital offering is much wider.
The station of the year award has been given annually since 2004 by the rail alliance Allianz pro Schiene.
The three large German customer associations Pro Bahn, the Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD) and the Deutsche Bahnkunden-Verband (DBV) are represented in the competition jury.
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len / dpa
