Submitted by Nicholas, who says:
Northern Rail’s new map is well worth a look – I find it exemplary for making such a previously nebulous network entirely understandable. Graphics pretty well impeccable. I understand this network may not survive the transition to Great British Railways, but it would be great if GBR could commission a nationwide suite of such maps for all the regional networks by the same author.
Transit Maps says:
I agree with Nicholas – there’s a lot to like about this clear and attractive diagram.
What’s immediately apparent is that while there’s a lot of vertical compression of the area shown – getting rid of all the empty space otherwise occupied by National Parks and the like – the relationship between major population centres has been maintained well. Carlisle and Newcastle line up across the map, as so Blackpool, Preston, Leeds and Hull, and so on down to the bottom. It’s impressive work, and the diagram still feels nicely balanced throughout despite the complexity of the network. I also feel that it strikes the right balance with the treatment of the coastline. It’s detailed enough to use as orientation (the labels do help!), but also simple enough so as not to distract from the diagram. Overly-complex faux geography is one of my biggest pet peeves, so it’s nice to see a designer resist the temptation for once!
I also approve of the map’s legend, which actually explains what all the symbols on the map mean in simple and plain terms. Yes, it’s a little verbose, but I really appreciate how it makes this complex network seem a little more human and approachable. A different approach that I haven’t seen very often before.
If I have any slight problem with this diagram, it’s that the nesting of corners as they go around curves isn’t always perfect. It looks like the diagram is trying to have slightly more organic curves that ease softly into corners – an approach championed by Ilya Birman among others – but it looks a bit clumsy in a few places, noticeably in the 90-degree curves coming south out of Manchester Piccadilly.
And perhaps some of the labelling could be looked at to see if the number of angles used could be reduced, or if more labels could be set horizontally.
Our final word: Yeah, this is pretty great. Simple, clean, effective design language works for me!
Source: Northern Railways website
The biggest problem with the Northern Railway map is its partiality. It only shows properly those services that operator provides. It does not show important links within the geography served by Northern that are provided by other operators, in particular TransPennineExpress.
Sadly this is typical of most maps produced by UK train operators who are fixated on their own network of services rather than the overall service provided by the railways of Britain.
This is a great point, Tony! It’s not confined to just UK operators, though – transit agencies around the world often put their blinkers on and prioritise their own networks rather than giving a holistic view of transportation in the area. I guess their point of view is that a network map is a form of advertising (“Look where WE can take you!”) so why would they advertise the services of another company? Not ideal from the end user’s point of view, though!
PDF: https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/sites/default/files/2025-06/Northern%20Network%20Map%202025%20Final_0.pdf
PDF of different style diagram: https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/sites/default/files/2024-12/Network%20map%20and%20grid.pdf
PDF of “step free” access (similar to above):
https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/sites/default/files/2022-01/Step%20Free%20map%209.3.21_0.pdf
It will be interesting to see how things change if GBR ever actually happens.
A nice 1400 word write-up by the designers with promises of an all-TOC version later this year. Looking forward to it
https://transportdesigned.com/introducing-northerns-new-network-map/
• WCML cased line merges with Manchester Airport route from the north but Blackpool service at the south rather than running through
• Shows reversal at Morecambe but not at Battersby
• Kirkby Headbolt Lane station should be just Headbolt Lane
• Angled captions – a no no (especially when not necessary as happens in a lot of cases eg Halifax, Liverpool South Parkway)
• Shipley triangular station shown badly – do Bradford trains stop there?
• Tiny font for walking and Metrolink walking times
• TransPennine Express service awkward at Mirfield, why is Grand Central Bradford service shown as it duplicates a Northern service?
• Unclear why some but not all other operator services shown
• No explanation of single or cased grey lines
• Northallerton junction shown wrongly
• Very uneven station spacing
• Over wordy text in legend
• Unnecessary ‘Trains to…’ at the edges – what are they if not trains?
• Inconsistent use of ‘Trains to’ – none to New Brighton and West Kirby or from Chester, Nottingham, Lincoln etc
• Although it says ‘Not all stations shown’, you don’t know where this applies (you might think it applies to other operators routes but for example Barnetby to Cleethorpes Northern limited service doesn’t show all stations but TPX Stalybridge – Huddersfield shows all stations)
• Newton-le-Willows wrong side of WCML, Denton wrong side of Marple line
• Very indistinct arrows on Merseyrail loop
• Rather thin station circles
• No James Street in Liverpool (perhaps there should be Hamilton Square?)
• Bad non-concentric curves at Manchester Piccadilly (three right lines)
• Other operators symbols too small (Bee, Merseyrail, Tyne & Wear)
• Doesn’t show limited Ince – Wigan North Western service
There could me more problems