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The Dutch want to turn trains into comfy mobile offices

Amtrak, you listening?

Rendering of people on train looking out windows Mecanoo via Fast Company

Leave it to the Dutch to design a commuter train that you might actually look forward to riding. The Dutch National Railway Company recently showed off a new vision for what its trains might look like in 2025, and the result is pretty dreamy.

Rendering of people on train using laptops Mecanoo via Fast Company

The company tapped Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo and furniture company Gispen to design a concept that centers around a kit of modular seats that can be mixed and matched to adapt to the myriad ways people like to sit on trains.

Rendering of different seat types Mecanoo via Fast Company

There’s the classic two-seater, of course. But there’s also a love seat-style bench, a U-shaped cluster of seats with a foldable table, individual seats that line up with a desk, and plenty more options including a tiered bleacher design.

Teenagers sitting on bleacher seats Mecanoo via Fast Company

For the moment, the designs are just concepts (read: don’t get too jealous just yet), but it’s a first step to acknowledging that people spend enough time commuting every day to justify an experience that’s not just efficient, but comfortable, too.

Via: Fast Company