Here’s a beautiful old strip map of the Paris Métro’s Ligne 12, which runs from Mairie d’Issy to Porte de la Chapelle. This map is located in one of the few remaining old Sprague-Thomson cars, once the workhorse of the Métro. The fact that Rennes station is crossed out dates the map from between World War II, when it was closed, and September 1968, when it was (finally) reopened. Judging by the general aesthetics and […]
Well, I guess this is one solution to the problem of having to look awkwardly over the shoulder of people sitting in front of the map on the train… Source: varlamov/Flickr
Here’s another unusual transit map — this one for the narrow-gauge, rack-assisted Zentralbahn railway in central Switzerland, serving the cities of Lucerne, Interlaken, Engelberg and points inbetween. Before a tunnel was built in 2010, the grade between Grafenort and Engelberg reached a staggering 25 percent – hard work even for a rack-assisted engine! Totally appropriately for a system that serves an alpine area, the map looks as if it would be completely at home in […]
Presented without comment. Source: Very Small Array via Laughing Squid
And now for something completely different… possibly the strangest official map I’ve ever seen (but oh so Japanese!). This map is for the privately-run Fujikyuko Line in in Yamanashi Prefecture, between Ōtsuki station and Kawaguchiko Station in Fujikawaguchiko. The line runs through mountainous country and has spectacular views of Mount Fuji… hence the cute anthropomorphic mountains, I’m guessing. Which, awesomely, also carry across onto the livery of the rolling stock as well. Despite the overall […]
Here’s another transit map made as a prop for a film, but with considerably more style and skill that the weird alternate universe DC Subway map for “Leverage” featured a while ago. At first glance, this prop – made for the 2008 film, “The Escapist” – looks like an exact replica of Harry Beck’s unusual and short-lived 1941 London Underground diagram, which uses 30- and 60-degree angles and “Olympic Ring” style station interchanges. Everything is […]
A first look at the new in-car strip maps for Portland, Oregon’s streetcar system. With the opening of most of the eastside loop, there are now two lines: the original route is now the North/South (NS) line, and the new track is the Central (CL) line. Unfortunately, for a brand new service that the city desperately wants everyone to like and use, the design of this map is terribly dowdy and old fashioned. There’s some […]
Note the fantastic station identification here – the roundels containing the station name are perfectly positioned to be visible to riders as the train pulls into the station. Lots of other transit systems could learn from this, not mentioning any names (*cough* BART *cough*)! And the Central Line map on the wall looks big enough to be read from the moon. Source: josericardodavid_o/Flickr
Created by long-time Transit Maps follower, Zac Landis, this is exactly the sort of thing a transit nerd should do with a blank wall. Using just yarn and push-pins, Zac has recreated the Tokyo subway map in all its complexity. Looks great, and (only) took him 15 or so hours to do. Love it! Source: Zac Landis/Flickr – link no longer active
Quite frankly, I’m amazed that even this much of the subway is running so soon after Sandy. It may not be the most attractive map in the world, but the MTA produced it fast, and that’s what counts in situations like this.
