On 10 October, UIC hosted the launch of a brand-new work entitled Dream Stations: a Worldwide Odyssey, published by Langages du Sud Editions and produced in collaboration with UIC and its members.
This publication, which presents a selection of 54 of the most beautiful and emblematic railway stations in the world, sheds new light on these historic monuments, looking at their history, architecture and style, and pays tribute to those who built them. The work also makes the cinema an essential part of its journey, showing how railway stations have been immortalised in a number of films.
The event was opened by Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director General, who introduced the guest speakers and spoke about the collaboration between UIC and the Langages du Sud publishing house. He highlighted the importance of railway stations, as places of interest and important living spaces within cities.
He said:
Stations are gateways for travelling to places steeped in culture. They also represent a dream of future mobility, from station to station, in a free and open world, thanks to the work of our great-grandparents who had great dreams, and thanks to the dreams of our children, who have set their sights even higher than us. UIC was very proud to be involved in this dream and this project.
The publisher of the book, Patricia Defever-Kapferer, then described the journey she made with her team across the five continents to discover over 50 railway stations, to learn about their stories and appreciate how they have contributed to the transformation of the railways.
She said:
This book is the first of its kind: it’s a world tour, a vision of railway’s imprint through stations – and to that I would add the passion of the men and women who make their stations a unique and emblematic space within their city’s architecture and development.
Last but not least, the author of the publication, Marie-Pascale Rauzier, then gave details about her experience of writing the book.
The launch was followed by a networking reception which included a book signing by the author Marie-Pascale Rauzier.
