OMTd · Field Immersion Programme

LearnEx
Europe

Come and bring a unique perspective to your organization and breathe new life into your projects.

Paris·Reims·Metz·Karlsruhe·Berlin

Express my interest What you get out of it
What you bring back

Deepen your thinking along four dimensions

With high-speed corridors, multimodal hubs, and complex mobility systems on Canada's horizon, the systems you are about to visit have already navigated these challenges. This week, you will understand how, and why, that understanding changes the way you approach mobility and planning.

01
Understanding governance conditions, not just outcomes

Visiting the Gare Champagne-Ardenne TGV, built in open fields and now the anchor of a new district begs the question: under what political, financial, and institutional conditions did this become possible? That question maps directly onto every rail corridor Canada will build. You leave with the conditions, not just a picture of the outcome.

02
Leaving with convictions that only field immersion can give you

Speaking with the elected officials who held the original vision, the planners and contractors who delivered it, and the operators who run it day to day gives you arguments, references, and credibility that go far beyond conventional theoretical approaches. When you discuss intermodality with your clients, you speak from direct field observation — not second-hand accounts.

03
Integrating multiple perspectives

Riding Le Mettis BRT in Metz first as a passenger, then again while observing dwell times, platform heights, and boarding dynamics. Developing an empathetic view — toward both the user and the system designer — is an active exercise in shifting perspective. You return with an analytical eye and a design sensibility you can put directly to work.

04
Building a network of peers to enrich your findings

Fifteen to twenty Canadian professionals — planners, local elected officials, organisational leaders, and mobility practitioners — will share this week together. The synthesis you produce will be collective. The field report you bring back will go beyond personal notes: it will be a document your organisation can act on, and one your colleagues can take ownership of.

What you will experience

See mobility systems in action, and behind the scenes

Join the 20 participants who will leave with a transformed vision of mobility systems, and the tools to act on it.

This is not a study tour. It is a structured observation programme, led by practitioners who have worked within Europe's largest rail operided by practitioners who have worked within Europe's largest rail operators.

01
Explore

Places, experiences, and service designs — seen in real operating conditions, not in presentations.

02
Be inspired

Innovative references and practices transferable to the Canadian context.

03
Meet

Inspiring individuals: practitioners, decision-makers, designers of the systems visited.

04
Reflect

Daily debrief and collective production of an actionable field report.

Day 0 Paris
Day 1 Paris
Day 2 Reims
Day 3 Metz
Day 3 Karlsruhe
Day 4 Berlin
Day 5 Berlin
Day 6 Return
Arrival in Paris — CDG TGV
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, TGV Station
Day 0
Arrival in Paris — at leisure

Individual arrival in Paris. Free time to explore the city or rest before the programme begins the following morning.

Accommodation: OKKO Gare de l'Est
Station Saint-Denis Pleyel, Grand Paris Express
Paris, Station Saint-Denis Pleyel, Grand Paris Express
Day 1
Paris : a capital service

Group kick-off in the morning, then site visits across three angles: multimodal hubs, urban planning, and operations. Presentation by Société des Grands Projets (SGP), the agency overseeing Grand Paris Express; visits to new metro lines 14 and 18. Evening masterclass and welcome dinner.

SGP / Grand Paris Express
New pedestrian connection at the Gare du Nord – Gare de l'Est – Magenta interchange megahub
Île-de-France Metro, lines 14 and 16
Accommodation: OKKO Gare de l'Est
Gare Champagne-Ardenne TGV, Reims
Reims, TGV station and development of a mid-sized city
Day 2
Reims: the TGV station and the development of a mid-sized city

The Gare Champagne-Ardenne TGV at Bezannes, originally built in open fields, now the anchor of a new district. Real-condition test of the connection to the city centre. Meeting with the Reims urban community; TER Fluo departure to Metz in the evening.

TGV Paris Gare de l'Est → Champagne-Ardenne TGV
Bezannes district — urban development around the outlying station
Meeting with the Reims urban community
TER Fluo Reims-Ville → Metz-Ville
Accommodation: Hotel in central Metz
Le Mettis BRT, Metz
Metz, Le Mettis BRT
Day 3 · Metz
Metz: rediscovering the bus rapid transit system

Le Mettis with Keolis Metz, an operational immersion into a BRT system that has reshaped mobility in Metz. Visit to the new district around the station with Centre Pompidou-Metz. Midday TGV departure to Karlsruhe; lunch on board.

Le Mettis BRT — operations with Keolis Metz
TGV Metz-Ville → Karlsruhe · lunch on board
U-Bahnhof Marktplatz, Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe, U-Bahnhof Marktplatz, KVV network
Day 3 · Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe: integrating Tram-Train and ICE on a single network

The Karlsruhe KVV model is unique in Europe: urban trams running underground through the city centre like a metro, then continuing directly onto intercity rail tracks, coexisting with ICE services. A real-world demonstration of genuine interoperability.

Gare de Karlsruhe, KVV network
Tram-Train de Karlsruhe, cohabitation avec l'ICE
Accommodation: Hotel near Karlsruhe station
Berlin Hauptbahnhof
Berlin, Hauptbahnhof
Day 4
Berlin: arrival

Early morning ICE from Karlsruhe. Arrival at Berlin Hbf in early afternoon. Free time to explore the city. Networking evening and closing dinner.

ICE Karlsruhe → Berlin Hbf
Networking evening and closing dinner
Accommodation: Berlin hotel
Berlin, Messegelände
Berlin, Messegelände
Day 5
Berlin: urban rail network and operations

Immersion in Berlin's S-Bahn and U-Bahn network: operations, fare integration, and infrastructure built for winter conditions — themes directly relevant to Canada. Collective debrief in the afternoon and production of the synthesis document.

Berlin S-Bahn / U-Bahn network
Debrief and consolidation (3:00 PM)
Production of the field report
Accommodation: Berlin hotel
Berlin Brandenburg Airport
Berlin Brandenburg Airport, retour individuel
Day 6
Individual return from Berlin

Free time to explore Berlin before departure. Time to consolidate the week's learning. A collective debrief call for the field report is scheduled within 15 days of return.

Free time in Berlin
Individual return
Debrief call — within 15 days of return
How it works

A programme structured around discovery and consolidation

01
Enriching perspectives

LearnEx brings together a diversity of professional profiles: elected officials, executives, and organisational leaders. The enrichment comes as much from peers as from the field itself.

02
A daily debrief

Each visit and each encounter will be followed by a structured collective debrief: verbatims, analyses, photographs, and shared synthesis.

03
A field report

La LearnEx produira un document de partage à l'issue de la semaine, pour diffuser, dans votre sphere, ce que le voyage has brought you et inspirer vos colleagues.

Participation fee
8 000 $ CA
 
Stages Paris · Reims · Metz · Karlsruhe · Berlin
Places 20 participants maximum
Included Full programme, exclusive access, accommodation, meals, ground transport
Not included Transatlantic flights
Credits Eligible for professional development credits from the Ordre des urbanistes du Québec

Express your interest

Dates for this edition will be announced soon. Leave us your details to be notified as soon as registration opens.

No financial commitment at this stage. This form allows us to validate your profile and keep you informed.