Nose Design Experience’s Simon Bildstein-Depaoli on procuring a train that inspires
09/09/2025
At this year’s Rail Interiors Show, Simon Bildstein-Depaoli, design director at Nose Design Experience, will argue that traditional frameworks make it difficult to achieve above-average outcomes, and will outline how an Experience-Centred Tender Definition could change that.
Based in Zurich, Nose Design Experience is one of Switzerland’s most renowned design agencies, founded in 1991. The company has worked in transportation design for more than 25 years, developing everything from Deutsche Bahn’s projects to Stadler’s full portfolio, including Switzerland’s iconic copper coloured SOB Traverso and SBB's Giruno high-speed train. “Our strength lies in balancing visionary design with feasibility,” explains Bildstein-Depaoli. “We create beautiful designs that still work from a technical and commercial perspective.”
Yet he believes procurement processes remain a barrier. “Traditional tenders are built on requirements lists,” he says. “If you imagine applying the same process to buying a kitchen, you’d end up with the cheapest option that ticks the boxes, even if what you actually wanted was something elegant, functional and inspiring.” The same problem applies to trains: “Manufacturers will focus on rated criteria. If design and passenger experience are not valued in the tender setup, they won’t invest in them.”
In his presentation, Bildstein-Depaoli will demonstrate methods and tools to integrate design quality into tendering, ensuring operators can procure trains that meet both technical standards and passenger expectations. He emphasises that many aspects deserve careful consideration: “Train architecture and zoning, seating arrangements, multifunctional areas, lighting, passenger information, and even luggage concepts, all of these shape the passenger journey,” he says. “If the architecture is wrong, everything else is compromised, no matter how nice the furniture looks.”
For him, the key lies in operators recognising the value of passenger experience early in the process. “The whole industry depends on how well thought out tenders are,” he says. “If operators care about onboard experience and design excellence, it will influence everything that follows.”
Bildstein-Depaoli hopes his session will give operators and industry stakeholders practical insights into embedding design in procurement. “Ideally, every tender should have a vision for each aspect of the passenger journey, and ensure it’s valued. That’s how we create trains that inspire.”
Session: Procuring a train that inspires! Experience-centred tender definition
Date: 24 November 2025
Time: 14:20 - 14:50
Yet he believes procurement processes remain a barrier. “Traditional tenders are built on requirements lists,” he says. “If you imagine applying the same process to buying a kitchen, you’d end up with the cheapest option that ticks the boxes, even if what you actually wanted was something elegant, functional and inspiring.” The same problem applies to trains: “Manufacturers will focus on rated criteria. If design and passenger experience are not valued in the tender setup, they won’t invest in them.”
In his presentation, Bildstein-Depaoli will demonstrate methods and tools to integrate design quality into tendering, ensuring operators can procure trains that meet both technical standards and passenger expectations. He emphasises that many aspects deserve careful consideration: “Train architecture and zoning, seating arrangements, multifunctional areas, lighting, passenger information, and even luggage concepts, all of these shape the passenger journey,” he says. “If the architecture is wrong, everything else is compromised, no matter how nice the furniture looks.”
For him, the key lies in operators recognising the value of passenger experience early in the process. “The whole industry depends on how well thought out tenders are,” he says. “If operators care about onboard experience and design excellence, it will influence everything that follows.”
Bildstein-Depaoli hopes his session will give operators and industry stakeholders practical insights into embedding design in procurement. “Ideally, every tender should have a vision for each aspect of the passenger journey, and ensure it’s valued. That’s how we create trains that inspire.”
Session: Procuring a train that inspires! Experience-centred tender definition
Date: 24 November 2025
Time: 14:20 - 14:50