Author: Cameron Booth

Historical Map: Metropolitan Transit Train System, Melbourne, 1981

March 3, 2020
Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Historical Maps
Tags:

The Melbourne suburban train network just after the City Loop opened in 1981. This is probably my favourite map of this particular network: it’s clean and graphically simple — black dots are all that are used to indicate parking, not a graphical vehicle icon or even a “P” in a circle. The colours are nice and bright and group the lines into operational groups quite neatly… an approach I prefer far more than the zone-based […]

Submission – Official Map: Lower Silesian Railways, Poland

March 2, 2020
Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Official Maps
Tags:

Submitted by Tomasz, who says: Here’s the official Koleje Dolnośląskie (Lower Silesia, PL) scheme with regional railway lines. Transit Maps says: A solid, workmanlike diagram of regional rail in the region around Wrocław, Poland. Nice thick, colourful route lines with good indication of stopping patterns for the various services. The legend is comprehensive and neatly organised at the bottom of the map. The labelling is a little inconsistent, with lots of different angles and even […]

Submission – Unofficial Map: Bucharest Metro Diagram by Alexey

February 28, 2020
Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Unofficial Maps
Tags:

Submitted by Alexey, who says: Hi! I am currently developing a metro scheme for Bucharest, and I would like to hear your comments on this. The tram and bus lines to the airport are also marked on the map, they will be displayed only on the poster version. Transit Maps says: This is a handsome diagram, distilling the Bucharest Metro down to its base elements only. In reality, the yellow M1 is nowhere near circular, […]

Submission – Official Map: Ortenau S-Bahn (OSB) In-Car Map, Germany/France

February 26, 2020
comments 2
Filed Under:
Official Maps
Tags:

Submitted by Neil Connolly, who says: This is a map of the local train network of Ortenau (the German county next to Strasbourg in France) as it appears on the train itself. As you can see, it runs trains into France too. While I very much appreciate the network (access to the Black Forest, Offenburg, etc., from France, where I live) the map has always annoyed me, but I can’t figure out exactly why. What […]

Submission – Unofficial Map: Greater Tokyo Railway Network, 2020 by Bernie Ng

February 7, 2020
comments 4
Filed Under:
Unofficial Maps
Tags:

Submitted by Bernie, who says: It’s been a while! I’m wondering whether you would be interested in taking a look at a diagram I have completed recently, showing all railway lines (except local or in-park people movers, such as the Disneyland monorail) around the Tokyo conurbation. I welcome any and all feedback! Transit Maps says: What an undertaking, Bernie! Mapping Tokyo’s subway lines alone is a huge challenge, let alone every darn rail in the […]

Official Map: Amtrak Network Map by James Niehues for Amtrak’s “The National” Magazine

February 5, 2020
comments 2
Filed Under:
Illustrations, Official Maps
Tags:

Yes, that James Niehues. As you’d expect from the acclaimed master of ski resort maps, the mountains in this map are gorgeously rendered, and Amtrak’s routes are drawn as straight red lines — almost as if they were ski lifts across the country. I particularly like it when a route line “disappears” behind a particularly tall mountain — it’s something that really sells the implied dimensionality of the map. It is perhaps unfortunate that some […]

Official Map: Ouigo TGV “Ouigoland” Map, France, 2020

January 30, 2020
Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Illustrations, Official Maps
Tags:

This confection of a map appears on SNCF’s website for their low-cost, no-frills, everything-costs-extra TGV service, Ouigo (a name that makes a pun in both English and French — “we go” in the former and “yes, go” in the latter). The map is certainly bright and cheerful, and very definitely on brand for the service. It uses the bright magenta and sky blue colours from the train livery liberally and presents all of France as […]

Unofficial Map: German Intercity Rail Network, 2020 by u/theflyingindonesian

January 27, 2020
comments 6
Filed Under:
Unofficial Maps
Tags:

Thanks to everyone who has alerted me to this rather wonderful map of the German Intercity rail network, created by a Reddit user known only as “theflyingindonesian”. This is actually something that I thought about tackling after I finished my French TGV network map way back in 2011, so I know how daunting and complex a project this is! If you’ve never seen the official Deutsche Bahn diagrams for these networks, prepare to be very […]

Historical Map: Car and Bus Routes to Wanamaker’s, 1929

January 24, 2020
Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Advertising, Historical Maps
Tags:

A rather wonderful little map from the 1929 edition of the Wanamaker’s Diary, showing how accessible the store – generally regarded as one of the first department stores in the United States – was by public transportation. I particularly like how all the modes are clearly defined by delightful little profile illustrations – adorable little motor coaches, single cars with trolley poles for streetcars and multiple cars for the subway and elevated lines. The sheer […]

Official Map: VTA San Jose Light Rail Map, 2020

January 20, 2020
comment 1
Filed Under:
Official Maps
Tags:

Along with a major service revision in December 2019 that – amongst other things –closed the Almaden Shuttle light rail line, San Jose’s Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) also took the opportunity to introduce a new light rail map, shown here. While it’s nothing outstanding, it’s clean, clear and easy to understand – which actually puts it ahead of quite a lot of other maps out there. I would like to see another use of the […]