Eco Factor: Passenger rail concept promotes public transportation as an ecofriendly alternative to cars.
The Emerald Xpress passenger rail concept was designed by a group of industrial design students at Virginia Tech, located in Blacksburg, Virginia, which includes Phil Padilla, Irfan Bhimji, Catherine Crenshaw, Matthew Decker and Aly Moreno. The goal of this project was to design a passenger rail system that uses the GenSet (GP-38) locomotive as the primary propulsion platform and promotes the use of rail transportation as an eco-friendly alternative to automobiles.
This rail system would be used for both regional and intercity transportation. With a top speed of 100 mph and capacity for 250-350 passengers, the train would provide a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly form of transportation for many people in the state of Virginia and surrounding areas.
The primary focus of the Emerald Xpress is to offer passengers a holistic brand experience, both on and off the train. The brand experience begins with the exterior design of the locomotive and passenger cars, is carried throughout the interior, and even reaches a personal level through membership cards and accounts. The name Emerald Xpress is meant to reflect the environmentally-friendly characteristics of the train, along with the luxury and comfort it would provide its passengers.
Membership cards help to create a sense of community among the members and passengers of the Emerald Xpress. The cards are used to hold the ticket information for passengers, helping to reduce paper waste created by traditional ticketing methods. They also have debit account services for passengers to deposit money for purchasing food and services on the train.
During the design phase of the project, the passenger seat was considered the most important component of the passenger car, if not the entire train. The seat is where the passenger will spend most of their time during the trip, and their perception of comfort can be easily influenced by the quality of the seat. The team completed research on a variety of seat designs from different forms of transportation, including airplanes and automobiles.
Specific features such as screens, tray tables, cushions and storage were studied closely to determine design strengths and weaknesses. On a broader scale, overall seating plans were also examined, taking note of how different seat positions and layouts affect the interior space of the passenger car. This research helped to design a seat that not only offers comfort to the passenger, but also carries on the brand image through its attention to detail.
Thanks: [Phillip Padilla]
