Stations and Transfers Overview This project explores the layouts and designs of metro and rapid transit stations worldwide, focusing on how station configurations impact passenger mobility, particularly transfer efficiency. It highlights the importance of well-planned interchanges in reducing travel time, effort, and frustration. “If time could be converted into money, a minute spent transferring is more expensive than a minute spent inside a moving train or bus.” The author, Albert Guillaumes Marcer, has drawn over 2,547 station layouts from European cities, complemented with research to understand complex underground stations and transfer hubs. --- Station Gallery and Interactive Map Users can select a city and a station from a map or dropdown selectors. Various station plans and 3D models are available (e.g., Collblanc in Barcelona). --- City Highlights (Selective Summaries) Alicante TRAM system operated by FGV with underground center, stations include mezzanines and side/island platforms. Luceros and Mercado stations directly connected to underground parking. Amsterdam Two metro groups: deep underground North-South line (M52) and mostly overground Verdana lines. Stations usually have mezzanines at level -1 and island platforms at level -2. Antwerp Premetro (underground tram) since 1975, connecting the city. Complex network with overlapping tunnels and multi-level platforms at transfer stations. Barcelona Known for long transfer corridors, partially caused by historical expansions and lack of network integration. Classic layout: mezzanine at level -1, platforms at -2 (side or central platforms). Introduced “Barcelona solution”: three platforms for two-track stations to improve passenger flow. Berlin Combines U-Bahn (metro) and S-Bahn (commuter rail), with mostly shallow underground stations. Most have island platforms and simple, efficient transfers. Boston Centenary lines with some unusual offset platforms. Underground stations built close to surface; transfer stations are efficiently designed despite historic constraints. Brussels Planned metro with phased upgrades from premetro (tram) to full metro. Cross-platform transfers in stations like Beekkant and Gare du Midi. Most stations have side platforms at level -2; line 6 uses island platforms. Budapest Europe’s oldest metro on the continent, deep stations with island platforms connected by long escalators. Transfers vary in complexity; some stations combine shallow and deep platforms. Chicago (not detailed but typical for inclusion) (No specific info here, so excluding.) London World's oldest underground system with two types of lines: sub-surface and deep tube. Deep stations feature escalators and lifts connecting surface to deep island platforms. Transfers have been improved over time, including one-way corridors for passenger flow. --- Transfer Types Short Transfers Cross-platform: Passengers transfer across the same island platform, minimal effort, coordinated schedules (examples: Brussels Gare du Midi, Berlin Mehringdamm). Sandwich station: Two lines cross perpendicularly at different levels, short staircases connect platforms (examples: Berlin Berliner Str., Barcelona Gorg). Parallel platforms: Platforms are parallel but require overpass/underpass to transfer (examples: Barcelona Paral·lel, Berlin Brandenburger Tor). Long Transfers Never-ending corridors: Result of poor planning or network expansions causing very long passages (examples: Barcelona Passeig de Gràcia, Madrid Diego de León). Deep stations: Stations built very deep due to geography or engineering constraints, connected by long escalators or elevators (examples: Barcelona Collblanc, Madrid Plaza de España, Budapest Deák Ferenc Tér). --- Macrohubs (Major Transit Hubs) Milan: Garibaldi Large rail station with surface and