Submission – Unofficial Map: Taipei Metro by Memphis Sun

March 4, 2020
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Submitted by Memphis, who says:

This is a redesign project of the Taipei Metro Map with aims to enhance the legibility.

I first tried to make something like this three years ago, when I was a college student. Back then, to pursue an excellent looking, I gave up a lot of detailed information and lower the font size, the result looks cool but yet not practical (the older version).

After three years, I think it’s time to do it again. I did some in-depth research this time regarding the fonts, colors, icons, and structure of lines, which resulted in a bilingual universal version and two extended versions. If you are interested in it, please take a look at the full project.

Transit Maps says:

There’s a lot to like about this reworking of the Taipei Metro map, especially the use of a very strong unifying grid and some lovely typographical choices. Clan Pro is both more visually interesting than Helvetica, and has a larger x-height for better legibility — I like it! The consistency in label placement certainly makes it easy to follow names along the route lines, though I’m not sure I agree with centring names above station dots on the diagonal part of the Yellow/Circle line as it causes the labels to cut across the line for some names.

The bullet for the western end of the Circle Line is placed too far away from its station, and isn’t consistent with the way other bullets are placed. I’m also curious as to whether this map has been future-proofed for the eventual final routing of the Circle Line (though I understand some of the alignment hasn’t been finalised yet).

My main concern with the map is the removal of the line letters from station codes. While it could be seen as redundant to label every station along a line with a letter prefix, I think it’s actually valuable to help colour-blind users to quickly follow a route line from end to end. While it’s possible to work things out by counting numbers and a bit of trial and error, that’s not a great user experience. Bear in mind that red and green look almost identical to a colour-blind person, so Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall station — where both the Red and Green lines change direction — could be particularly problematic.

A few more thoughts: A note that the Airport line continues on to Huanbei would be nice. Similarly, labels telling you where the HSR and TRA lines actually go would be welcome (the official map shares this problem). And while I can see why Memphis has removed this information, I do miss the little diagrams on the official map that explain the short-run service patterns on the Red, Green and Blue lines.

Our final word: Overall, a rather lovely reworking! It’s definitely worth your while to head over to Memphis’ project page to read about his design rationale.

Source: Memphis’ Behance project page

Historical Map: Metropolitan Transit Train System, Melbourne, 1981

March 3, 2020
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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 colours that Melbourne went to in the 1990s.

The vertical labels for Spencer Street and Parliament stations on the Loop are unfortunate and probably could have been avoided with a little more thought. The least successful element is probably the hollow dashed lines to indicate co-ordinated bus routes, which seem a little vague to be useful to the uninitiated. Regular commuters would probably get along just fine, however.

Source: Waking Up in Geelong

Submission – Official Map: Lower Silesian Railways, Poland

March 2, 2020
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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 some leader lines to squeeze stations into more crowded areas. The type is a little small and condensed overall, but not horrendously so. The border between Poland and the Czech Republic seems a little overly detailed in parts, especially over to the bottom left of the map where Germany gets added to the mix — I think this could all be simplified and generalised a bit more.

Our final word: Nothing amazing, but it does the job that it needs to with a minimum of fuss. 3 stars.

Source: Koleje Dolnośląskie website

Submission – Unofficial Map: Bucharest Metro Diagram by Alexey

February 28, 2020
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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, so it’s a little risky to portray it as such. However, I think that Alexey has done a good job – putting Universitate station at the exact centre of the circle is a nice touch.

I would like to see some more diagrammatic treatment of the lines: the M3 could line up from Preciziei to Anghel Saligny, entering and exiting the circle at the same position. The southern ends of the M2 and future M5 could line up with each other, and so on. It might also be a good idea to separate the two parts of Dristor station to make it absolutely clear that the M1 doesn’t continue around the loop coming from Piata Muncii.

My biggest thought is regarding the black background. It’s very stylish, but it also reduces contrast with a lot of the other colours on the map. It’s especially problematic with the very thin tram and bus routes, and even the dashed future Metro lines. Some colours may have to be lightened a bit, or lines thickened slightly to make them stand out a bit more from the dark background.

Our final word: A stylish, compact diagram that could be worked up a little more to make it really stand out.

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

February 26, 2020
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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 are your thoughts?

Transit Maps says:

There are plenty of minor problems with this map that certainly add up to an “annoying” level, to use Neil’s words. The garish zone colours, uninspired typography, logos slapped on everywhere with white boxes behind them, the differently-sized and coloured station ticks (why?)… it’s all a bit of a slap-dash, random affair.

My biggest gripe, however, is that it doesn’t really give you any idea of how the network actually works. Can you catch a train from Offenburg directly to Ottenhöfen? Do different routes overlap to increase service frequency in a corridor? From what I can see from a quick look at the OSB website, there are seven routes in the network, with five using Offenburg as a terminus and with two more acting as connecting branch lines (Biberach to Oberharmersbach-Riersbach, and Achern to Ottenhöfen). It’s a relatively simple network to depict and showing it in full would really add to the utility of this map. There aren’t any OSB trains that run through Offenburg to a destination on the other side, so it’s not possible to get from Achern to Hausach on a single train, for example. (Of course, this being Germany, there’s almost certainly a Deutsche Bahn RE train that can do that, but those services seems to be outside the scope of this map.)

On a side note, I remember waiting for what seemed like ages for a train from Offenburg to Strasbourg back on a freezing cold day in early 2004. Brrrrrrr!

Our final word: Not particularly well executed, and not showing individual routes really limits its usefulness. 2 stars.

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

February 7, 2020
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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 whole metropolitan area, so I applaud the effort involved. The resulting map isn’t exactly compact (the PDF Bernie sent me is around 107 by 75 inches – even bigger than my own monstrous Highways of the United States of America map) but that’s probably beside the point. This is a map that’s best savoured in its digital form, zooming in and scrolling around to uncover all the details.

Stylistically, the map puts me in mind of both Zero per Zero and Jug Cerovic, but it’s also very much in line with Bernie’s earlier work as well. I think the piece holds together really well, with a lot of sweeping curves and concentric rings, though perhaps the outer parts of the map seem a little empty in comparison to the dense centre. Bernie’s goal was to unify all the disparate rail networks with a common design language, and I think he’s succeeded for the most part. Information about Toyko 2020 venues and soon-to-be-opened stations is also most welcome.

For me, where the piece really shines is in the insets to the right of the map, which present a wealth of additional information and insights about the network. A comprehensive overview of services to Narita Airport, a guide to through-running services, and a rather wonderful little map of Shinkansen services that would be a worthy stand-alone map. So much information packed into such a small space!

Our final word: It would make an enormous and unwieldy poster or printed map, but it’s wonderful to look at on a large monitor. This is a huge undertaking and obviously a labour of love, and that’s to be applauded. Four stars! You should definitely head over to Bernie’s project page to read more about his process and design decisions.

Source: Bernie’s Behance project page

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

February 5, 2020
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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 routes have been omitted from the map — none of the Michigan Services make it, nor the City of New Orleans, which is almost unforgivable. Perhaps it’s better to treat this as a work of art than a practical map?

On a personal note, I’m just happy to say that I’ve now been published in the same magazine as James Niehues — my Amtrak as Subway Map was the very first in this series of alternate Amtrak maps appearing in The National, way back in December 2016/January 2017.

If, like me, you’re a fan of James Niehues’ work, you might want to check out this book about his career, The Man Behind the Maps (affiliate link).

Source: Amtrak’s The National

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

January 30, 2020
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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 a theme park (complete with “roller coaster” track!) called “Ouigoland” — tying in perfectly with the service’s tagline of “Let’s play!”

The major destinations get little illustrative icons to depict the region, ranging from a lovely little Hotel Negresco in Nice to a paper cone of anthropomorphic frites (!) in Lille. The elephant for Nantes confused me at first, but there is actually an enormous mechanical pachyderm —  Le Grand Élephant — in that city. You can take rides in it! The starfish sunning itself on a towel is probably my favourite.

While I love the style of the map, it’s really just used to highlight potential destinations, rather than giving any indication of the actual network. This is probably intentional, as the cut-price nature of Ouigo echoes that of no-frills airlines: the destination is the thing, not the journey or route taken to get there. You’re really meant to go to the Ouigo website, enter your starting and ending locations and see how cheap the fares are, basically.

Our final word: Adorable and well-executed, if not actually useful to gain a full understanding of the ins-and-outs of the rapidly expanding Ouigo network. Hmmm, maybe a project for the future? Three stars.

Source: Ouigo.com

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

January 27, 2020
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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 disappointed. They’re incredibly average pieces of work, with awful “RGB-bright” colours and arcane combinations of dotted and dashed lines to indicate service frequency. They’re also split up into two separate maps — one for EC/IC services, and another for ICE — probably because it would be impossible to work anything out at all if the two maps were combined. I reproduce the EC/IC map here, just so you can see how average it truly is. So right from the start, this new map is a major upgrade.

I particularly like the dead straight trajectory of the lines from Hamburg down to Fulda, and the clear treatment of the potentially difficult and convoluted Rhine-Ruhr area. I also like the way that the routes for trains that pass through major stations get a ghosted-back line to link the routes across the (sometimes very large) station rectangles.

On a map this complex, some labels are going to have to sit across route lines, but I think it’s generally been handled well and everything seems very legible. The route designation lozenges are distributed evenly across the map, and I generally don’t have any problem following a route from end-to-end. I’m not entirely sure about the usefulness of including a “selection” of RE routes: they make the map a bit busier than it needs to be, although perhaps it does help to indicate some gaps in the high-speed rail network.

The colours used for the routes are interesting: they mostly seem to be nicer, less bright versions of the ones on the official map. Which is fine, I guess, but I’d be interested to see a version where colour conveys more meaning. I’m pretty certain that the colours on the official maps are arbitrarily assigned for the sole purpose of keeping similar colours as far apart as possible, so with a little thought a more meaningful purpose could be assigned. Perhaps a trunk-based system like the New York Subway where lines that run along a major corridor get assigned like or similar colours could be employed?

A note: it would appear that many of the apparent typographical errors in the map are actually intentional and meant as some type of in-joke by the author. Make of that what you will!

Our final word: Infinitely superior to DB’s official maps, and quite glorious to look at. 4.5 stars!

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Source: Reddit/r/transitdiagrams

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

January 24, 2020
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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 proliferation of multiple streetcar routes to the west of the map is something to behold.

Source: Emily Higgs/Twitter