Submission – Fantasy Map: Rail Map of the Wasatch Front, Utah, 2050 by Christopher Council

March 4, 2019
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Submitted by Chris, who says:

Here’s a map I’ve done that presents a vision for Wasatch Front rail transit in the year 2050. It’s done in the style of the London Underground map.

Possible future lines are shown with dashes and are based on various proposals throughout the years. Some are very likely to be built fairly soon, while others are not. For instance, some parts of the Wasatch Line (my name) have been proposed, but not in a unified line as I’ve chosen to do.

Transit Maps says:

This is a very competent map that Chris has made, with nice clear labeling and well-spaced stations. The downtown area is particularly well handled, as it always has the potential to look extremely cramped. The colours for the mountains and lakes are well chosen, and successfully don’t look like fare zones, which is nice.

There’s a few places where the labels could be improved a bit: “West Jordan City Center” could be set on two lines, and “Park City Main Street” could be slotted into its natural position to the right of the route line if all the stations below it slid down a bit more. It looks very odd as the only station on that section to be set to the left and above the line.

The pecked lines indicating future additions to the network work well, but I would like to see some mode differentiation between light rail and the FrontRunner commuter rail: they’re very different services in terms of frequency and operating hours and need to be shown as such. Working within the Underground theme, cased lines like the London Overground would seem to be the best choice.

Speaking of the Underground theme… unless a map is meant to be a direct homage to or a deliberate pastiche of that venerable icon, I’d really like to see designers come up with their own design language for their maps. The best transit maps from around the world always have their own unique identity, and I don’t think that you learn as much about what makes a transit map tick when you simply copy the style of such a well-known map. I’d love to see Chris rework this map into something more uniquely “Utahn” – thinking about the font choices, colours, station markers, everything! The framework of the map is very solid, but (for me, at least) the style has been seen and used too many times before.

Submission – Unofficial Map: MARTA Rail, Atlanta Redesign by Alec Southwell

February 28, 2019
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Submitted by Alec, who says:

Long-time reader here with my first submission, a redesign of Atlanta’s MARTA rail system.

I’ve always been puzzled as to why the colors in MARTA’s logo don’t reflect those of the lines. For this map, I’ve “rebranded” the line colors, which has the added benefit of making them easier to distinguish for those with colorblindness. I’ve named the lines after their unique terminals, which erases the potential confusion for tourists or first-time riders of which branch goes where.

Transit Maps says:

There’s a lot to like in Alec’s reworking of Atlanta’s rapid rail transit network — a minimalist look with really nice typography, definitely evoking a very mid-century design feel. There are a few elements that are at odds with that simplicity, like the attempt to show the actual routing of the Atlanta Streetcar and the overly fussy right-angled bends that the northern end of the Orange Line takes past Medical Center. Without having to show the relationship of those stations to Atlanta’s highway network like the official map does, I feel that this whole section could just be straightened out. With a simplified diagram like this that obviously draws influence from his work, it’s good to ask, “What would Massimo Vignelli have done here?” — the answer would almost always be to simplify down to the absolute barest of elements.

I like Alec’s reworking of the line colours, both because it brings them in line with MARTA’s branding (as he notes), but it also makes the service relationships between the pairs of lines more obvious. The two warm colours share a trunk line, as do the two colder colours. If anything, it might be good to swap the orange and yellow line colours, just to give the stronger colour to the line that has service along its full length at all times. The yellow then belongs to the line that gets cut back to serve as a shuttle in the evenings, similar to the treatment of the lighter blue line along the east-west trunk. Finally — as Alec says — the colours do work better for colour-blind users, as seen below in comparison to the official map (left). With only four clearly-labelled lines, this isn’t a huge issue for Atlanta, but it’s nice to see that it’s been a design consideration for Alec.

Alec’s solution to the different service patterns is in line with the minimalist principles of the map (white dot = full time service, white hollow dot = daytime service, white hollow diamond = daytime service on weekdays only), although the diamond is perhaps visually a little too similar to the hollow circle on first glance. A little further exploration of symbols to come up with something more immediately and obviously different could be good.

I’m not entirely sold by Alec’s naming of the lines, which seems potentially confusing to me: an announcement like “This is a Doraville Line train to the Airport” seems almost certain to cause panic among those unfamiliar with the system. Likewise, I think Alec needs to append “I-285” to the label for the framing ring road. Atlanta natives might know what “The Perimeter” is, but tourists and visitors almost certainly don’t! The tiny, spindly white label on a light grey background is also quite difficult to read.

Our rating: A great effort from Alec here – a very clean modernist look that works really well for the most part. Could perhaps be simplified a little further in parts.

Official Map: Subway and Streetcar Map of Toronto, 2019

February 19, 2019
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Seen on Twitter, and requested by a few readers is this new map from the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) that shows both Toronto’s subway and streetcar networks. It’s a great concept, though perhaps overdue, so how does it stack up?

Overall, it’s really rather good. The larger poster format finally frees the subway part of the map from the compressed confines of the narrow above-the-door strip map, though they will still exist alongside these new maps. So wisely, the map uses the same design language, which is pretty well defined these days.

Some problems continue, like the teeny-tiny accessibility icons crammed into the station dots, and the slightly inconsistent way which the route number bullets are integrated with the station labels, but there’s nothing egregiously wrong. Icons for other non-TTC connecting services (GO, VIA, etc.) add extra detail without jamming more lines into the map: a good balance has been struck, I think.

The streetcar grid is rendered well – I particularly like the way that routes that run along the same part of a street run parallel to each other, becoming a simple frequency indicator for that section: more lines equals more streetcars! The dense grid does mean that labels have to cut across route lines in a number of places, but it’s generally handled deftly.

A very minor complaint is that the legend just seems to float in space a bit without really being aligned to anything – personally, I would have used the baseline of the map’s title to “hang” the legend from.

Our rating: A welcome addition to the TTC’s wayfinding package. A single map showing all rail-based transit is a great idea, and this is solidly executed in a well-honed house style. Three-and-a-half stars.

Source: TTC/Twitter

Unofficial Map: Amsterdam Metro and Rail Map, 2019 by Jaap Knevel

February 11, 2019
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Submitted by Jaap, who says:

I’m a Dutch information designer and design school teacher. I would like to submit my map of the Amsterdam Metro and Train network for your review.

Transit Maps says:

Jaap actually sent me a version of this map quite a while ago, and I’m sorry to say that it’s been languishing in my inbox since then. Which is a bit of a crime, because I think this is an excellent, compact little diagram. By eschewing geography almost entirely (only the IJ is included for orientation and there’s no attempt at all to render Amsterdam’s famous canals), Jaap has been able to condense the network down to just its essential elements.

The Metro lines are clear and bold with clearly labelled stops, and the train lines fit nicely into their supporting role. The underlying grid is solid, and the layout allows the type for the labels to be set nice and big. While no routes or service patterns are indicated on these train lines, a reader can quickly and easily see that there are connections from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam Centraal Amsterdam Zuid and RAI just by following the route lines. Simple, but effective.

Jaap’s made the interesting decision to change some of the line colours away from the official ones (the M50 switches from green to orange; the M51 from orange to cyan; while the new M52 is purple instead of cyan). In his previous submission, he said that this was to increase contrast between adjacent route lines, which certainly is an issue with the official orange/yellow/red combination of lines out of Amsterdam Centraal. Jaap also notes that “together, the new line colors form a rainbow flag, a reference to Amsterdam’s progressive values and support of gender and sexual diversity”, which is actually a pretty neat little piece of design.

My complaints are very minor – Schiphol is misspelled as “Shiphol”, and the curve on the rail line out of Muiderpoort towards Amsterdam Amstel seems like it’s been cut off a little short when compared to other similar curves on the map.

Our rating: Compact and minimal, this is a superbly legible diagram that doesn’t waste a single bit of space. I’m not entirely sure that designers should normally unilaterally decide to alter official line colours, but Jaap uses his changes to teach a good lesson about using contrasting adjacent colours. Nice work all around!

New Project: New York Subway Map in the Style of the London Underground Map

February 9, 2019
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If you follow me on Twitter, then you know I’ve been working on this project for a while now, but I think the time has finally come to share the final product. (Click on the image to view it larger).

Prints of this map are available in my online store, starting at just $38 plus shipping for a 24″ wide by 32″ print. Click here to get one!

This map is an evolution of one I initially made as a quick throwaway project back in 2016, but lots of great feedback from many, many people has really helped it become much more complete and comprehensive. While my original map only featured the subway itself, this one includes PATH (and parts of New Jersey!), the Staten Island Railway (added after overwhelming popular support), the JFK AirTrain, the Roosevelt Island Tram and indications of easy connections (either directly adjacent stations or those within a 0.3 mile radius) to the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and NJ Transit.

While the map is faithful to the London Underground style, there have been some changes made for a few reasons. All the icons have been redrawn to better match their New York equivalents (check out the Roosevelt Island Tram icon!) and to avoid using any official Transport for London design assets in the map. The typeface is ITC Johnston Sans, a commercially available font for which I hold a license. All the colours have likewise been tweaked to be similar—but not identical—to those used on the Tube Map.

For legibility’s sake, I’ve used a thin white keyline to separate route lines of the same colour when they cross each other but don’t otherwise interact. This mainly happens with branches of the orange IND 6 Avenue line, as seen to the left. The official Tube Map uses keylines like this in a couple of places (but not very consistently), so I thought adapting it for this specific purpose would be fine. It certainly adds a bit of clarity to some potentially confusing areas of the map, as does the addition of a few strategically placed reassurance bullets that help a reader follow the lines from end to end.

More details of the map in the gallery below:

By popular request, prints of this map are available in my store starting at just $38 plus shipping for a 24″ x 32″ print. Because this is a vector file, I can print this one right up to a massive 44″ wide by 58.5″ deep. Go get yourself one!

As always, your comments and thoughts are welcome. This one has been a lot of fun to work on and improve with the assistance of so many wonderful people—thanks again to all of you!

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Submission – Historical Map: New Jersey Commuter Rail, c.1971–1976

February 8, 2019
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Submitted by Shaul Picker, who says:

I have a Flickr and save these images from eBay listings and elsewhere. This is from the NJ DOT, now NJ Transit. This map is from the 1970s, as indicated by the presence of the Bayonne Branch.

Transit Maps says:

This is a great find, Shaul – thanks for sharing!

The best I can do to date this is that it’s after 1971 (the formation of Amtrak), but before 1976, when commuter rail services in New Jersey were divested to Conrail until 1983. The Bayonne Branch, a shuttle service known affectionately as the “Bayonne Scoot”, ran from 1969 to 1978, so its presence here doesn’t give any more information. Interestingly the map shows the western end of the line as Roselle Park, when I believe that it actually ran through to Cranford. Some of old alignment at the eastern end of the Bayonne Branch is now part of the Hudson-Bergen light rail line.

As for the map itself, it’s a bit of a glorious mess with routes and labels heading off in all directions, but it’s still quite legible and usable despite that. It certainly has a very 1970s vibe to it! The main interchanges are very clearly denoted, and I must give full credit for including PATH (operated by the Port Authority, not the New Jersey DOT) on the map. There’s absolutely no correlation between the colours of the route lines on this map to those on the current NJ Transit rail map. Note also the absence of Seacaucus Junction (which didn’t open until 2003) and the original name of Pavonia Avenue for the Newport PATH station.

Submission – Historical Transit of Dunedin, New Zealand by Sam van der Weerden

February 6, 2019
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Submitted by Sam, who says:

After finishing this map early last year I think it’s finally time to submit it!
Dunedin, NZ had the second cable car system in the world (after San Francisco), as well as an extensive network of trams, with some ferries and rail as well. This is a map of the greatest extent of that old network, including historical closing dates and old line numbers. None of this infrastructure is around now (pretty much all cable cars, tramways and metro rail got canned in NZ from 1950-2000), but it’s still a fantastic piece of history for our small city.

Transit Maps says:

Sam sent a very early version of this map to me (quite) a while ago, then asked me to hold off on publishing it while he reworked it. Fast forward to now and we have this lovely map in a modern style that revisits the halcyon days of rail-based transit in Dunedin.

I particularly like how the greenbelt of parks forms a logical boundary between the detailed street grid of the city and the more stylised surrounding suburbs. Wisely, Sam has labelled all the streets that the cable cars and trams ran along, so this approach works well. His colour palette is bright and pleasing, though interestingly, the cable cars tend to get darker, duller colours (which is one way of quickly identifying them, I guess!).

I’m not thrilled by the transparent fill underneath the legend that the coastline and rail and ferry lines can be seen through. The lines interfere too much with the legibility of the type and don’t add that much to the meaning of the map. The lines could simply end at the edge of the map proper, with labelled arrows pointing in the direction of the final destinations. The cheeky way that the Andersons Bay line inserts itself between different sections of the legend is quite fun, though.

Finally, while Sam notes the ending date of each of the services (“Until 8/1947”, etc.), he doesn’t tell us when each service started. As I doubt they all sprang into existence on the same date, this information would be really interesting to show.

Source: Sam’s website

Historical Map: European Rail Connections from Frankfurt, 1928

February 1, 2019
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Here’s a superb visualization of the fastest travel times by rail to major European cities from Frankfurt am Main (here rendered in its obsolete English form of “Frankfort”) in 1928.

The striking time bands – a form of isochrone – are rendered in bold alternating concentric “target” circles around the city itself, represented by a modernist “F” logo. For the most part, the cities seem to placed along correct headings relative to Frankfurt, although the time scale means that actual distances aren’t necessarily conveyed accurately. Poor old Lisbon takes some 72 hours to get to, far more than even distant Moscow or Odessa!

The map is from a publication produced by the City of Frankfurt entitled Frankfurt-on-Main: Economic Facts and Statistics, almost certainly produced to entice foreign (English?) economic investment in the city.

Our rating: A wonderful little graphic, highlighting Frankfurt’s central location in Europe in a bold, compelling way. Five stars!

Source: @chaosforscherin/Twitter (account no longer active), with a H/T to Taras Grescoe

GIF: Evolution of a New Unofficial Santiago Transit Map by Jose Ureña

January 30, 2019
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Jose sent me a link to this still-evolving project via Twitter the other day, and his post on Medium about it is well worth reading, even through the filter of Google Translate. He’s got a lot of great ideas, and it’s always fun seeing how other people approach codifying their design principles for a map.

What really caught my eye was this GIF showing the evolution of Jose’s map, all the way from the initial red horizontal Line 1, through to a (nearly) finished map. The little tweaks and edits along the way are quite fascinating to see – almost as if we’re watching Jose “solve” a puzzle.

Submission – Official and Future Maps: Trinational S-Bahn of Basel, Switzerland, 2019 and 2030

January 30, 2019
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Submitted by Simon S., who says:

I recently travelled through Basel, in North West Switzerland and noticed this map. It shows the suburban train network of the city, that reaches into Germany and France. I think the map itself is quite well made (very simplistic), but my subjective observation is that the system isn’t as unified as it seems – neither DB nor SNCF advertise their respective as “S-Bahn Basel” or “RER Bâle”. You can also notice that it is a Swiss-made map through the station names: Lörrach Dammstrasse, for example, is actually spelled -straße but Switzerland doesn’t use that letter.

Transit Maps says:

I think there’s a reason why the system isn’t as unified as it first appears, Simon. The Trireno initiative is a long-term plan that aims to have S-Bahn style rail service (30 minute headways on the branches, interlined to 15 minutes or less in the core) in and around the Basel conurbation by 2030. This map only reflects the current, early stages of the program – with the S-Bahn confined to Switzerland and connecting services in France and Germany handled by existing regional trains. The proposed 2030 system can be seen in the map below – looking much more complete and impressive.

Design-wise, the two maps are pretty similar (good!). The route lines are a little too spindly and thin for me, and the station labelling is inconsistent – why are they angled on the purple S9 line, when they’re horizontal on the adjacent blue S3? I do like the subtle national border markers – they’re there if you look, but as the idea of the system is to build up stronger transit that transcends boundaries, they’re very small and restrained.

Our rating: Not extraordinary, but solid enough. Nice to see that the design language scales up to the 2030 map pretty well. Three stars.

Source: Trireno website (in German)