Submitted by Laura, who says:

I have a love-hate relationship with Santiago’s Metro map. The current one excludes very useful information (particularly important for migrants and tourists) such as the existence of private buses to the Airport, or the commuter rail service to Nos (run by another company) that’s been working for more than a year now. It works just as well as the Metro using the same card and price, but for some reason is not mentioned.

This map was made from scratch by comparing distances between existing elements on it with the actual geography, not with the intent of being 100% geographically accurate, but to better show the relationship between the Metro and the Mapocho river (on the original one, for example, Plaza de Armas seems closer to the river than Baquedano, but in reality the opposite holds true). This map is currently being independently developed with the purpose of being distributed as a pocket map.

Transit Maps says:

I’ve actually had this map in my queue for quite a while – it came in during the Transit Maps World Cup, as Santiago’s official map was making its way to its eventual (and perhaps controversial) victory. Not wanting to post anything that could be seen as influencing the voting one way or another, I’ve held onto it until now. Hopefully you’ll agree that it was worth the wait, as Laura’s Vignelli-like diagram is really quite lovely.

The underlying street grid of the official map has been removed, with only the river remaining as a geographical landmark. All the lines have been straightened as much as possible, although some curious changes in direction still remain. Personally, I would have gotten rid of the changes in direction at the ends of the 2, 3, 6 and N lines… if feel that this has crossed the line from being a map to being a diagram, and should be treated as such – which means no changes in direction along a line unless absolutely necessary.

The comprehensive legend and list of stations is most welcome and well laid out, and the inclusion of icons denoting “Ruta Roja” and “Ruta Verde” stations – a peak hour skip-stop service pattern much like Chicago’s old A/B service – adds another layer of useful information.

Our rating: A clean and clear alternative to the official map. Three-and-a-half stars.