sharing professional experience among friends
2026 Paris Conference (14–16 October)
Reimagining Railway Assets as Drivers of Urban Transformation
The Station Managers Global Group (SMGG) of the International Union of Railways, in collaboration with SNCF and the Watford Group, invites you to an international conference evolving into a high-level training programme on the future of railway assets and the built environment—covering not only stations, but also technical centres, operational facilities, engineering structures, and exterior and interior design aspects of rolling stock.
Why This Training Matters
Railway assets are no longer just transport nodes or standalone facilities — they are catalysts for urban and territorial transformation, shaping connectivity, land use, sustainability and the overall performance and image of rail systems.
This programme brings together international experts to explore how station design, infrastructure, and operations shape cities, mobility systems, and sustainable development, while also covering broader design aspects of topics like station furniture, passenger information supports, railway infrastructure including environmental integration, as well as the customer-related design aspects of rolling stock. This includes both new and restructured/refurbished projects.
A Legacy of Excellence: The Watford Conference
Originating in 1963, the Watford Conference has long fostered international exchange among architects, designers, and railway professionals.
Today, it evolves into a certifying training format, combining:
- Expert presentations
- International case studies
- Technical visits and on-site learning
- High-level peer exchange
What You Will Gain
- Advanced expertise in station development and management
- Insights into passenger experience and multimodal integration
- Exposure to innovative practices in sustainability and urban integration
- Access to a global network of professionals
This Year’s Focus Theme
Railway Infrastructure and Urban Transformation
From city centres to suburbs, how rail shapes growth, regeneration, and mobility
The conference programme is divided into two parts: one dedicated to a fixed theme of current and shared interest, and another open to free presentations within the fields of station design, railway civil engineering, rolling stock, graphic design, and the management of architectural and design processes.
Paris as a Living Laboratory
📍 14 – 16 October 2026, Paris
Hosted at the heart of global railway cooperation, the training offers direct insight into one of Europe’s most ambitious urban and transport transformations, enriched by exclusive technical visits. The additional visits and networking opportunities will also be suggested around the conference, including the weekend.
Join the Conversation
This initiative marks a new step in strengthening international collaboration and expanding the railway architecture and design community across disciplines.
The attendees are welcome to submit the presentations on all aspects of railway planning including: design, and construction with an emphasis on buildings, bridge and tunnel structures, rolling stock design, graphics, and corporate identity.
Be part of the dialogue shaping the future of railway stations and cities.
Registered participants are warmly invited to submit a paper related to the conference theme, Railway Infrastructure and Urban Transformation: From City Centres to Suburbs — How Rail Shapes Growth, Regeneration, and Mobility.
The 2026 conference aims to continue its legacy of peer-to-peer learning, where each delegate benefits from the experience and knowledge of fellow participants. Papers may address stations as well as wider railway assets, including technical centres, operational facilities, engineering structures, and rolling-stock-related architectural elements.
Please note that, in keeping with the Watford Conference tradition, speakers do not receive a reduced conference fee, as the event is conceived as an educational forum based on peer-to-peer learning and professional exchange.
Participants are kindly invited to book their accommodation at one of the hotels on the attached list, where preferential rates have been negotiated by the UIC.
The aim of the Watford Conference is to encourage the interchange of ideas across national boundaries and to develop and maintain the highest standards of coordinated design for railway-associated schemes.
The annual gathering is a forum of about 80 professionals where the different representatives of each country can present the current developments in their works and show future projects for professional colleagues in an informal atmosphere. Intense discussions between and after the presentations allow further exploration and the exchange of ideas and experience. Contacts created at the Watford Conference facilitate continuous exchange of these ideas between members outside the annual meeting.
Excursions to recent projects as part of the conference schedule have the unrivalled benefit of hands-on experience combined with the possibility of discussing concepts with the responsible designers. Since the Watford became a travelling conference in 1989 it takes place in different countries, changing from year to year.
The conference is normally held over 3-4 days including the weekend. It is divided in two parts, one based on a fixed theme of actual and common interest and one for free presentations within the framework of station design, civil engineering within the railway, rolling stock, graphic design and management of the architectural and design process.
| 2025 | Legacy: The Past – The Present – The Future |
| 2022 | Resilience and Adaptation: Transporting the Community of the Future |
| 2019 | Mixed Themes |
| 2018 | Mixed Themes |
| 2017 | Transport systems and their consistancy in larger urban areas |
| 2015 | Stations as turntables for mobility |
| 2014 | Transformation |
| 1013 | The value of design |
| 2012 | Renewable energie in station and Network |
| 2010 | Cooperation / Competition |
| 2009 | Capacity |
| 2008 | The future design for mobility and customer orientation |
| 2007 | integration of railway design in (urban) landscape |
| 2006 | Improvement of Technology: How has an improvement on technology changed railway design and architecture? |
| 2005 | What is the “state of the art”? – aspects of excellence in railway design |
| 2004 | managing the process to quality |
| 2003 | branding vs. orientation |
| 2002 | the interaction between old and new |
| 2001 | reference projects, handbooks, guidelines, databases etc. |
| 2000 | one passenger – one station – trains belonging to many companies |
| 1999 | visual communication between the railway and society |
| 1997 | station areas development |
| 1996 | genius loci |
| 1995 | design of civil engineering works |
| 1994 | accessability |