Renens station (Vaud)

With the financial help of the Lausanne-Morges urban planning project and the Confederation, the four municipalities conducted an architectural competition which aimed to re-design the station by taking into account the SBB’s plans for the station’s restructuring and re-designing. In 2007, the winning project "Rayon vert" was thus laying the foundations for the future re-design of the station. The pedestrian bridge "Rayon vert" which will connect the two squares at the north and the south of the station is the central piece of this urban development project.

The project must meet several demands at the same time: Improved access to the platforms and the trains, adaption of the existing railway infrastructure, restructuring of the bus traffic, integration of the new tram and the existing metro as well as a qualitatively high design of the squares and the public areas in terms of urban and architectural development. Intermodality is a key characteristic of the project. It aims at simplifying the changeover between the individual means of transport, the public transport (train, metro, tram, bus), the human-powered mobility, and the motorized transport. In addition, the pedestrian bridge, the more than 500 Bike & Rail facilities at the north and south of the station, and the restructuring and upgrade of many streets and squares (meeting zones) will further promote human-powered mobility. The project tries to meet the challenges that come with the increasing mobility of the Lausanne West region by creating an efficient, secure and user friendly transport hub.

The restructuring of Renens station is only in its planning phase which explains the lack of tangible results. It is, however, remarkable how systematic and comprehensive the Lausanne West project is driven forward. The newly restored marketplace and the adjacent streets in the proximity of the station clearly show the comprehensiveness and the desire to change things.