The Dutch city of Alkmaar recently got a radical makeover of its main train station. The project was a response to the growing number of train travellers and the wish to upgrade the run-down public areas around the station. The scope of the project encompassed an elevated walkway connecting the stations platforms, two new entrances (one on each side of the station), a new bicycle garage and a redesign of the public areas around the station. The development of the design brief was a joint effort by the projects three main stakeholders: the national railway company (the company that operates the station), Prorail (the company that owns the station and the infrastructure) and the municipality (the public body that is responsible for the public space around the station). For all the requirements in the brief it was made explicit which of these three parties was the requirement initiator.Strategic objectives Functional requirements Technical requirementsAccording to the strategic briefThe functional requirementsThe technical requirements (called ambition document inin the brief were related to thefocused on those aspects that this project), the projects mainstations three main functions:are critical for the flow of people objective was to improve thetravel, retail and bicyclein the station: the escalators customer experience of peoplestorage. Most of the functionaland the elevators and the stairs using the station. A survey ofrequirements concerned the(e.g. stating minimum widths). the stations users had shownrouting from the stationsFurthermore, there were various that the station scored badlyentrance to the platforms. Thetechnical specifications for the on comfort and safety whenbrief provided detailed dataretail spaces, such as stipulating compared with other stations.about travel movements and thethat these should have access to The existing situation wasnumber of users for each of theseveral kinds of utilities. Some perceived as cluttered, outdatedplatforms. of these requirements were of and poorly accessible for disabledConcerning the commercialsurprising detail, such as the people and people with pramsfunctions in the station, thestatement that each rentable unit and bulky luggage.brief stipulated that as muchshould have one, unit-specific, Another objective concernedas possible, travellers shouldconnection to the central waste the projected increase inbe guided along the frontswater system, made of pvc, 125 passenger numbers, whichof the shops at the stationmm in diameter, capped at a were expected to grow fromto maximize retail revenue.height of 500 mm.the current average of 21,000However, it also noted that travellers per day to 27,000commercial functions should travellers by 2020. Against thisnot hinder the stations transfer background, the brief asked forfunction. With regard to the new a station with a future-proofbicycle garage, the brief asked for capacity that would be able toa storage racks for 1000 bicycles. cope with the busiest, rush- Of these, 2% had to be big enough hour related, peak loads ofto park outsized models such pedestrian flows in 2020. as cargo bicyclesa type of bike that has become very popular in the Netherlands but does not fit into regular bicycle parking racks.