Here’s an interesting pair of photos from 2009 that show two in-car strip maps that co-existed on Metro trains in Brussels. Together, they show the changes in the system that were occurring with the opening of track between the Delacroix and Gare de l’Ouest stations. Apart from a new look to the map, the system itself seems to have been overhauled completely, with the previous lines “1A” and “1B” becoming “5” and “6”, amongst lots […]
Submitted by Joshua Fan, who says: This is an official map of Seattle’s Central Link light rail line, which opened in 2009. It appears in the official guide of all of Sound Transit’s services, which can be found in this PDF on the Sound Transit website. Frankly, I am quite disappointed in this map: it tries to both diagrammatic and geographical, but fails on both counts (which is a common mistake that you have pointed […]
Today, the FrontRunner commuter rail system opens for revenue service south of Salt Lake all the way down to Provo, and there’s a new version of the map to reflect this new service. I reviewed a previous version of this map back in July, and I didn’t have much positive to say about it then – and my opinion has not been changed with this new iteration. Quite a few people have submitted this new […]
Submitted by Sam Gold, who says: “Taken last week on Line 2 of the Seoul Metro. I found these system maps to be close to unusable!” Transit Maps says: Hard to disagree with Sam here. You’d need some excellent vision or really good glasses to be able to make out all the detail on this map, which crams all of Seoul’s extensive system into an area often used to show just one line or far […]
Simple but effective use of an otherwise long and empty space on the station shelter. Could do with a bit of a clean, though. Source: Sweet One/Flickr
Submitted by David Daglish, who says: Rio De Janeiro’s metro system has only two lines, both cover the same stations through the business district to the tourist areas of the Zona Sul. The transit map also shows “metro bus” connections that don’t quite make geographic sense. Transit Maps says: A “straightened” linear version of the full Metro map (reviewed here, 2 stars), which enhances the legibility considerably. Strangely, this version also has information about weekend […]
Here’s an interesting in-car strip map from Rome. Firstly, the eye-searing orange background breaks away from the norm of plain white backgrounds: no one could ever say that they couldn’t find the map! Secondly, and perhaps more unusually, the map actually shows whether stations have side platforms or island platforms — very handy for knowing which side of the train to get off! Source: Ka Lung1/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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
