Submitted by Kristoffer, who says:

I’ve made a map of my hometown Copenhagen’s transit system as it will look from summer 2019, when the circle metro line opens after a ~10 year long construction phase. A regional rail line to Ringsted will open at the same time.

There are two local train systems in Copenhagen, S trains and Metro, but the official maps for the two systems use quite different map styles. Once the circle line opens, however, I feel that the two services should absolutely be combined in one map. I don’t know if there’s going to be an official combined map though, I haven’t seen any signs of it. I have used the current colors for the S train lines, but changed the metro line colors, as the official colors (green, yellow, blue, and orange) are too similar to the S train line colors, in my opinion. Also, I wanted the two systems to have a slightly different color scheme.

Transit Maps says:

I caught a glimpse of Kristoffer’s map on Twitter a little while back and liked what I saw, so I’m really pleased that he’s submitted the finished piece to the site. It’s a lovely map too, skillfully and confidently executed in a very clean and modern style. I particularly like the minimalist but effective legend at the bottom, and the colours throughout are gorgeous. The gradient in the water is particularly well-handled, as this type of effect often has the potential to look awful.

Kristoffer has resisted the temptation to make the “circle line” a literal circle, and I think it’s a wise choice – a circle wouldn’t fit in with the angularity of the rest of the map. The generous corner radii used help to soften the shape of the line, which works well.

Some minor things: I’m not too fond of having line bullets angled with their line, as it makes them a little harder to read and changes their shape relative to straight ones (a square becomes a diamond, for example). There’s probably a case for having the “C” line move over to run adjacent to the other lines between Svanemøllen and Hellerup stations, just to avoid the big gap between the lines at Hellerup. The little jog of the main line railway between Central and Nørreport could be a little smoother to be in keeping with the generous curves I mentioned before.

Our rating: Clean, modern and rather wonderful. If there is to be a unified rail map in Copenhagen’s future, can it look like this, please? Four stars.