Mesmerising stuff. One dot equals one person’s journey. More details on the project here.
Historical Map: Gothenburg Tramways, January 1966
An pleasant mid-century diagrammatic tram (and bus) map for the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The two major points of interest for me are the nice little turnaround loops at the ends of each tram line (everyone who’s ever ridden a tram would instantly understand that), and the interesting “lightning bolt” symbols used to indicate free transfers between stops that have some distance between them. (A quick Google Translate of the legend for that symbol gives “Connects the stops between which the transition [transfer] is permitted, even though they are not located in close proximity to each other”.) Apparently, this transfer even extends to a ferry ride from the #32 bus on the north shore of the Göta älv to the tram stops located on the opposite bank. Nice!
The large key to route numbers is also interesting, with its stylised central “SG” logo (for Göteborgs Stad?) surrounded by route lines radiating out from it. It’s definitely impressive, although perhaps a little overwrought for a simple list of routes and destinations. Still, it’s always good to see a different approach to a common design problem!
Our rating: Naively charming in its way with a couple of very nice touches. Definitely of its era. Oh look, a stop named after the Volvo manufacturing plant! Three stars.
Source: mikeyashworth/Flickr
Submission – Fantasy Future Map: Glasgow Integrated Rail by Angus Doyle
Submitted by Angus, who says:
I’ve been working on this map of an integrated rail network for Greater Glasgow of the (imagined) near future for quite some time and now that it’s finally finished I’d love to know what you make of it. Shortly after beginning the project I found your blog and I’ve been regularly trawling through it for inspiration and tips ever since.
I started work on the map for three basic reasons. Firstly, I felt that the city region’s substantial urban rail network – as it exists now – really needs a dedicated map of some sort, having last had one more than a decade ago. Secondly, it is my belief that a modest amount of vision and investment could see the reinstatement of a range of unused or underused routes and thereby endow the city region with thoroughly modern and enviable transport network – something along the lines of the number of German cities with multi-modal transportation systems incorporating U-Bahn, S-Bahn and trams. Thirdly, like yourself and everyone who follows Transit Maps, I really love schematic transport maps and, as an aspiring graphic designer, I thought it was high time I have a crack at one.
A much more in-depth/boring synopsis of my motivations, vision and design processes can be found at my blog here.
Transit Maps says:
Wow. Not only is Angus’ fine diagrammatic map simply beautiful to look at, but the applied design theory behind it is some of the most comprehensive I have ever seen. Every element has a defined relationship to the other parts of the diagram and it’s all applied consistently across the whole map.
Check out the final image above to see how he ties everything together with some very consistent sizing and spacing of elements. It has to be said that this type of theoretical work is always a little bit easier with a fantasy map compared to a map of an existing transit system – reality doesn’t always oblige us quite so nicely with the location of and relationships between stations, etc. – but a set of strict guidelines that govern the look of a map is always a great idea.
The map itself is filled with lovely design touches that really set it apart: I particularly like the black dot/grid arrangement of interchange station symbols and the simply glorious “current” texture applied to the River Clyde. There’s good mode differentiation between the subway (greatly expanded from the single “Clockwork Orange” circle that currently exists) and the commuter rail lines, and connections to long distance trains are nicely shown as well. I do feel that the labels could perhaps be a little larger – there’s a lot of white space in the diagram, and bigger text is always helpful!
About the only other thing I don’t really like on the map is the unlabelled, stylised version of it at the top right of the header: it seems somewhat pointless and squiggly, and a little at odds with the clean, restrained design of the rest of the map.
I would definitely recommend all readers to head over to Angus’ blog, where he details the rationale and method behind this fantastic map; he also delves deep into the colour theory and branding of the system as well.
Our rating: One of the best fantasy transit maps I’ve seen in a long time, backed up with some solid design theory. Four-and-a-half stars!
Submission – Unofficial Map: Pittsburgh Rapid Transit by Michael Lopato
Submitted by Michael, who says:
I am a long-time fan of your blog and now first time contributor. I have made a few attempts at making transit maps, but this is the first I’ve finished. I noticed that though Pittsburgh has a number of maps for Light Rail and the Busways, there is no good map or diagram which includes all of the rapid transit options on the same map—nor one which shows the connections between them.
Intending to fill this gap, the attached diagram/map is unofficial, a creation of my own, and it is meant primarily to show how the light rail and busways interact and to show where the city limits fall in relation to transit stops.
If you have time, I would very much appreciate a score/review of this and am quite curious to see your comments. Even if not, I hope that this is posted and shared so that Pittsburgh’s visitors and residents can be made more aware of their transportation options.
Transit Maps says:
A good effort from Michael that I would say I prefer over any official map that I’ve seen – in part because of that full integration of light rail and busways in one map. I’d perhaps like to see some visual differentiation between the two modes, because the user experience is quite different, but that’s a pretty minor point.
There could also be a bit more difference between the two different types of light rail station/stops, as the slightly lighter grey stroke around the low-platform symbols is too similar to the black stroke around the high-platform station marker, especially at smaller sizes.
The unusual nature of Pittsburgh’s geography—with the downtown triangle squeezed in at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers—means that 30-degree angles work well there, but 45-degree angles suit much of the rest of the map. Overall, this looks pretty good, but there’s some awkward juxtaposition of angles here and there, especially with the city limits line south of the Monongahela River.
Our rating: A solid map that combines the two major forms of rapid transit in Pittsburg pretty convincingly. Also reminds me that I started a Pittsburgh map ages ago and really should get around to finishing it. Three stars.
New York Philharmonic/Subway by Djamika Smith
Submitted by Benjamin, who says:
It’s a few years old, but this New York Philharmonic poster by Djamika Smith is pretty cool.
Transit Maps says:
A fun idea, nicely executed. I particularly like that the route lines appear to be labelled as “A” through “G”: the notes of a musical scale.
Source: Djamika Smith’s website – link no longer active
From Unofficial to Official: Igor Skliarevsky’s Kiev Rapid Transit Map
I first covered Igor’s vision for an improved rapid transit map for Kiev way back in 2011, and I was impressed with what I saw even back then. He’s continued to work on it and improve it since then, and it finally seems that his hard work is paying off. The latest version of his map is now being placed in some Metro trains as a pilot program, hopefully leading to full acceptance as the official map.
Igor sent an earlier version of the map to me for a technical review, and I was very pleased to be able to offer my thoughts to him, although I only had a few minor issues with it. It’s a very accomplished piece, and certainly miles ahead of the old official map.
There are a lot more details about the design of this map, with comparisons against earlier versions and the old official map at the Agents of Change blog. It’s in Ukrainian, but Google Translate does a pretty decent job. Most importantly, the article shows the thought process, patience and attention to detail that’s required to make a top-notch transit map.
Project: 1939 Map of Sydney Railways, Digital Recreation
If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, then H.C. Beck must have been blushing when this diagram of railway services in Sydney, Australia was produced in 1939. Designed just six years after Beck’s famous London Underground diagram first appeared, it mimics the original’s style almost perfectly, even to the point of using an almost exact copy of the iconic Underground roundel on the cover. If nothing else, it shows how quickly Beck’s idea was adopted around the world.
I’m always on the lookout for great vintage transit maps to add to my online store, but the high-resolution scan of the original map on the Wikimedia Commons (left) is unfortunately way over-sharpened and not suitable for reproduction, even with retouching. So – as is my wont – I decided to redraw it from scratch in Adobe Illustrator.
Technically, the original map is nicely drawn, with fairly consistent 45-degree angles and corner radii throughout. However, there are a couple of spacing oddities that I decided to fix in my version of the diagram. Firstly, the label for Kirkham station on the Camden line was sitting inexplicably higher than the other labels along the same branch; and secondly, I moved all the stations on the Richmond line a little further up and to the left to give the label for Seven Hills station a little more room to breathe. Apart from that, everything is faithfully reproduced from the original.
The typography of the map was a little more challenging than the layout. The notices to the top right of the map are obviously set in Gill Sans, although it’s an ever-so-slightly different cut to the modern digital typeface that I have. However, the rest of the labels are actually very neat and precise hand-lettering, much as Beck’s early maps had (he described his lettering as “Johnston-like”, as its form somewhat approximated that of the Underground’s official typeface). Matching hand-lettering with a modern font is next to impossible, so I used one that matched the metrics of the lettering as closely as possible — an almost perfectly circular capital “O” being the major ingredient required. The labels also have some idiosyncratic and variable letter spacing, which I tried my best to emulate. Once I had set all the labels, I converted all the text to paths and roughened them up to simulate the more organic feeling of the original hand lettering. It’s not perfect, but it looks pretty good.
Prints of the redrawn map are for sale in my online store, and comments on the diagram are always welcome!
Submission – Historical Map: SEPTA High Speed and Commuter Rail System, 1976
Lovely little simplified network map that shows the SEPTA network in the mid-1970s, when commuter rail service was provided by the Reading Company and Penn Central… hence the two separate Chestnut Hill stations in the network (now denoted as East and West). Although the two systems are noted separately in the legend, there’s very little – if any – difference in the way they’re depicted on the map, although each line is labelled with its owner’s name in any case. Only interchange and terminus stations are labelled, but the map is only meant to give an overview of the network (the “big picture” if you will), so I don’t mind that so much.
Source: Trainweb.org website
The Warriors’ Subway System
The map of the New York subway system that featured in The Warriors was replaced in the same year that the film was released, 1979.
The map seen in the film was designed by Massimo Vignelli and was first introduced by the Metropolitan Transport Authority in 1972.
The Warriors themselves had a few things to say about Vignelli’s map:
AJAX: Figure out how many stops to the Union Square.
COCHISE: Hey c’mon man, that’s not a map for Rembrandt!
FOX: It’s alright, nobody can read these maps anyway.
Everyone’s a critic, even in the movies.
Historical Map: General Railway Development to 1985, Melbourne, Australia (1969)
Submitted by John Mullany via email.
Here’s an interesting rail planning map from 1969, presumably produced in association with the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan. It outlines all the improvements planned for Melbourne’s metropolitan rail system, including a whole bunch of new branches as shown in blue. According to the map, the works depicted were to be completed by 1985.
Fast forward to 2015 – some 30 years past that deadline – and only the City Loop (opened between 1981 and 1985) and the extension to Westona (1985, now part of a loop on the Werribee Line) have been built. The rest remain unrealised, with the Doncaster Line being a fine example of a project stuck forever in “planning hell”.