Here’s a look at a new system map for Calgary’s CTrain light rail system, as spotted by Natalie Sit when boarding one of the brand new LRVs yesterday. Conceptually and graphically, it’s much better than the previous map (February 2013, 2.5 stars) but there’s also something a little weird about it that I’ll get to later.

First things first! The big improvement in this map is the treatment of the downtown area, making it absolutely clear which stations are stopped at in each direction along 7th Avenue. The old map was worryingly vague about the situation, so this change is great to see. The additional information about when bicycles are permitted is also very welcome.

The positioning of labels is generally much better, although it’s unfortunate that the last three stations along each northern extension have to be flipped to the other side to accommodate other elements – the Calgary logo to the left and the marker for the airport bus to the right. The latter is particularly odd as the airport actually lies to the west of the route, not to the east.

Another oddity is the way the eastern part of the Blue Line jumps up to align with the Red Line as it leaves the downtown area, presumably to get it away from the label for the Victoria Park/Stampede station. However, things line up properly at the western end, so this just looks like poor design. The labels on the southern part of the Red Line could be shifted down slightly or respaced a fraction tighter to easily get the Blue Line in the right place.

Speaking of labels, can we get some consistency in how a separating slash “/” is used? Sometimes there’s no spaces between the slash and the letters on either side (typographically correct) and sometimes there’s a full space each side.

Now the odd thing. To my eye, this particular map looks like a inkjet print that’s been printed and trimmed (with a dull blade, check out the rough-edged paper) and mounted to the train interior, not a proper four-colour process commercial print. I also think that there’s evidence of a grey trim line along the top right edge, but I’m not 100-percent certain about that. The real giveaway (for me) is the quality of the text output: it’s very rough and has terrible kerning and tracking problems. Maybe the real map wasn’t ready in time for the launch of the spiffy new trains and this is a placeholder? If anyone in Calgary can get a closer look at this map and report back, I’d be very interested to hear if my suspicions are correct.

Our rating: A much better, clearer map than the previous one. Some suspicions that this isn’t quite the finished article yet, though. A provisional 3 stars.

Source: Natalie Sit/Twitter