Research: Station Activation, Facilities, and Events

Metro stations are increasingly being reimagined as more than places to pass through. By introducing facilities, amenities, services, and events, metro operators can improve the quality of the station environment, enhance customer experience, and support wider goals such as attracting new riders, increasing non-fare revenue, and strengthening connections with local communities.

These initiatives can range from practical facilities that meet everyday passenger needs to cultural, commercial, and community activities that make stations more welcoming and engaging public spaces. The study outlines a wide range of examples of station events and activations that have been put on across COMET metros, as well as how external stakeholders have been involved and how metros measure the success of these initiatives.

Bella Vista Park
Bella Vista Pocket Park at Sydney Metro

Community of Metros News: COMET 2026 Western Meeting in Newcastle , 2-5 June

The TSC and COMET members had an insightful Western Meeting in Newcastle, bringing together 40 representatives from 18 metros. Over four days, key topics were discussed such as fleet strategy, AI governance and applications, financial performance, real-time operations, and customer-focused station activations through dynamic discussions, roundtables, and member spotlight sessions.

A special thank you to Nexus for hosting us and for the well organised technical visits to the Gosforth Depot and their Learning Centre. These highlighted Nexus’ genuine passion for people including championing inclusivity, wellbeing, and opportunity across the organisation. Their values-led culture clearly empowers teams to innovate, collaborate, and deliver excellent public transport.

Newcastle meeting

Looking ahead, we’re excited to keep the momentum going at our upcoming COMET meetings – sharing insights, challenges, and practical solutions that push our industry forward.

Community of Metros News: COMET 2026 Eastern Meeting in Nanjing , 10-13 May

The TSC and COMET members had an excellent Eastern meeting in Nanjing last week, bringing together 55 representatives from 13 metros. The discussions were highly insightful, covering key topics of station services, service efficiency, passenger safety, labour costs, and asset lifecycle management.

Nanjing Meeting

A special thanks to Nanjing Metro for their warm welcome and for organising excellent technical visits to the Majiayuan Vehicle Base and the Maqun Training Base, where we had the opportunity to see their full-scale replica training facilities. We greatly appreciate our members’ ongoing commitment to innovation and continuous improvement.