Month: February 2016

Submission – Official Map: Weekday Rail Service Map for Belgian Rail

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Submitted by Jim, who says: I came across this horrendous mess of lines and angles. Its the Weekday Service map for Belgian Rail – the national rail company for Belgium. Sorry its only in French/Dutch, but I think the drawing speaks for itself. I know making a map for a whole country is no easy feat but I feel like there must be some improvements to be made, especially around Brussels. Transit Maps says: Yep, that’s […]

Submission – Official Map: CapitalMetro LRT Pre-Construction Map, Canberra, Australia

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Submitted by Mitch, who says: Canberra’s CapitalMetro light rail project will (apparently) commence construction this year. The community is still fairly divided over whether it’s a good idea – I wonder if a more appealing transit map would increase support? Transit Maps says: It’s not exactly exciting, is it? But that’s always a problem with a single-line light rail project: just exactly how do you make it look more impressive? I’ll give this one a […]

Submission – Official Map: Paris RER/Transilien Zone Map (and a mystery station!)

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Submitted by Lucas K., who says: Hello, I know this is an odd question but I figured that if anyone would know this, you would: So I was browsing a map of Paris’s Transilien railway services when I spotted an oddity: A terminal station directly below Gare Montparnasse: Paris Vaugirard. I look all over the Internet but no trace of any Paris Vaugirard station can be found. Do you know what is going on here? […]

Submission – Unofficial Map: Chicago Urban Rail by Kara Fischer

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Submitted by long-time correspondent, Kara, who says: Here’s a project I’ve been working on for a while now—quite possibly one of the most difficult maps I’ve ever made. You and I hold similar opinions of Chicago’s RTA system map, namely, that it’s decent, but it could be better. So I’ve been working on optimizing a unified map of Chicago’s urban rail, showing the CTA and the inner regions of the Metra. My goal was to […]

Submission – Fantasy Map: DC Commuter Rail by Nick Fabiani

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Submitted by Nick, who says: Thanks again so much for your feedback and review of my Connecticut map (April 2015). I’ve been working on a few new maps, and I’ve finally gotten one in a place where I’d love to have your feedback. I don’t know if you’ve seen the West Wing, but there’s an episode where some characters have a meeting with the made-up Cartographers for Social Equality. The thrust of their argument is […]

Historical Map: “Avenue of the Americas” Subway Map, 1974

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Taken from a rather breathless prospectus promoting the Avenue of the Americas (also known as plain old Sixth Avenue, New York) as the economic and cultural epicentre of pretty much the entire universe. Produced by the Avenue of the Americas Association, and entitled simply “From humble beginnings to architectural and commercial greatness – the saga of the Avenue of the Americas: New York’s prestige address and one of the great thoroughfares of the world”, the […]

Historical Map: 1936 Japan National Railroad Map

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Via: xoverit: A sightseer’s travel map of Japan showing famous landmarks, mountains, seaside resorts and hot springs 1936 Japan National Railroad (JNR) map of the Japanese Empire including Korea, Taiwan, and Manchuria produced under the supervision of Prof. Sho Takahashi of the National Railroad Bureau. Suffice to say, it contains many amusing advertisements, including the one on the front cover which is for… some kind of hormone supplement lotion? This. Is. So. Beautiful. Such amazing detail […]

Submission – Fantasy Map: A. Merritt Taylor’s Rapid Transit Plan for Philadelphia by Arthur Etchells

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Submitted by Arthur, who says: I’ve been a fan of your website for some time and have dabbled in creating some transit maps of Philadelphia, utilizing many of your tips. The latest is a Vignelli inspired map based on A. Merritt Taylor’s plan for future rapid transit in Philadelphia. The plan is from 1913 and if executed would have left Philadelphia a very different place.  [This 1913 plan was featured on Transit Maps in October […]

Unofficial Map: Redesigned London Underground Map by Rich Cousins

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Just to show that there’s always a different way to approach the same design problem, here’s a completely different reworked Tube Map by art director/designer, Rich Cousins. Like me, Rich seems to have reached a breaking point where all the additions to the Tube Map over the years have made him say, “there must be a better way!”, although his criteria for a successful redesign are quite different to mine. Note that this map dates back […]