How to get the traveller experience back on track?
From commuting to travelling
Since 2010, Allegro trains have been the link between east and west, St. Petersburg and Helsinki, connecting the two cities in mere three and a half hours. Thousands of journeys later, the high-speed trains and their compartments were in need of a proper refurbishing. Kuudes teamed up with the rolling stock company Oy Karelian Trains Ltd, owned by VR Group and Russian Railways, in this mission to strengthen the Allegro brand, upgrade the passenger experience and make travelling between Russia and Finland more desirable.
Insight-driven design for better overall experience
We produced rivalling designs for the interiors and validated them with passengers onboard Allegro. Talking with the end-users gave us valuable insights on their expectations and wishes for this cross-border voyage. For travellers, the journey begins immediately they enter the train, not in the destination. That’s why we proceeded with the design line that embraces the Scandinavian design language, giving Russian tourists the feel of Helsinki right away and vice versa Finnish and international passengers the feeling of home.
The Kuudes concept refines the customer experience from the moments before the journey all the way to the disembarkation. Working and meetings onboard were made more fluent and the dining car also saw several functional upgrades.
Both 1st and 2nd class compartments received a remarkable face-lift: blue together with the brown leather add a hint of luxury to the overall feeling, still being contemporary and fresh. The design is sporty, yet elegant. Everything but the restaurant car was done with existing interiors and furniture.
Tale of two cities
All areas support the overall concept: the bistro, kids’ play area and lounge were revamped to showcase the destinations, Helsinki and St. Petersburg. The idea was also applied in the visual world, such as the print materials of the restaurant car. Iconic representations of the cities – landmarks, stamps, and coins among other things – were used for emphasis.
For more information:
Sonja Söderholm
Account Director
sonja.soderholm@kuudes.com
