Grass in a train station?

Newcastle Central Station put artificial grass on the train platform. It's a stunt by rail operators GNER. They want people to take the train and not the plane. Plane travel generates far more CO2 emissions than train travel. This reminds people that the train station is the greener choice.
"Environmental considerations are becoming a much more decisive factor in our choice of transport," says GNER chief executive Jonathan Metcalfe. It's a clever publicity stunt but hardly compares to the Atocha train station in Madrid, which is a virtual green house. Train station, especially underground stations, are usually boring places. They plan to remove the astroturf next Monday. Hopefully they will try something more long term.

[Source: BBC News]