Sometime after I reviewed Kristoffer’s original unified Copenhagen-area transit map (January 2019, 4 stars), he began to collaborate with Pasha Omelekhin, a designer probably most well-known for his alternative Berlin map. They’ve just released their revised map, and it’s really quite wonderful.

Designwise, it’s definitely an evolution of Kristoffer’s original map, but I can see where the collaboration has resulted in marked improvements to the map. The interchanges have a more consistent design now, one which very clearly shows the user that they’ll have to transfer between the Metro and S-Tog. The transfer lines have that very in-vogue Russian design trope of using a gradient between the two route line colours — in general, I think this element works better on bolder lines so that the gradient can be seen easily; these slender joining lines seem to be a bit thin for the effect to work well.

However, I do really like the subtle use of slightly darker variant of the route line colour around the white station dots, which really lets them pop out of the route line without being as overpowering as a black keyline or similar.

Another major improvement is the use of official route line colours throughout: Kristoffer gave new colours to the Metro lines on his previous attempt, which is a bit of a no-no. Here, simply casing the lines gives enough transit mode differentiation for the similar colours to co-exist on the same map.

Some other notes: geography is handled nicely, as is the indication of Copenhagen’s central core (very handy for tourists). Inclusion of more regional rail is good, though the spatial relationships on the outer edges of the map get distorted somewhat with their addition (Roskilde is further west than the end of the S-Tog network in real life). I kind of miss the little point of interest icons from Kristoffer’s previous map, though I can see why they’ve been omitted.

The final word: An evolution, but a good one. I think Pasha has brought a lot of design discipline and expertise to Kristoffer’s original concept, and the results speak for themselves. Four-and-a-half stars out of five.

(And is that a ghostly Little Mermaid poking in from the right edge of the map?)

Did you enjoy this post? Do you visit Transit Maps regularly? Consider supporting the site with a small monthly donation via Patreon. Your support makes it possible for me to continue bringing you great content!

Source: A new rapid transit map of Copenhagen