All posts tagged: London Underground

Dezoning the London Tube Map?

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Unofficial Maps

There’s a new version of the London Tube Map out for 2016, and it looks like things are getting worse for our venerable friend. With every revision, it’s being asked to do more and more in the same amount of space – Underground, Overground, DLR, TfL Rail, that darn aerial tram, zone information and more – and it’s definitely beginning to groan under all that weight.  A London blogger by the name of Diamond Geezer […]

Video: A Tube Map Made of Chocolates!

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Miscellany, Popular Culture

Ah, the Quality Street box of chocolates and toffees – a perennial Christmas gift from grandparents throughout the UK, Australia and elsewhere. Their brightly coloured wrappers lend themselves well to this little project: a recreation of the London Tube map made from individual chocolates laid end to end.  Yes, it’s all a silly bit of festive fun, but there is actually some insight into the current state of the map when they’re laying out the […]

Official Map: Walking Time Between London Tube Stations

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Official Maps

Brought to my attention by Russell Morris on Twitter, this is a new official TfL map that shows the approximate walking time between London Underground stations in Zones 1 and 2.  While it’s nice to see that TfL has recognised the desire from the public for alternative maps of the network (see also the recent official TfL “geographic” map), this is about as low budget as a “new” map could possibly be. It’s basically Zones 1 […]

London Tube Map Featured in New UK Passport Design

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Miscellany

Passport design has come a long way in the last few years, often being transformed from relatively dour official documents into elaborate and detailed expressions of national pride.  The new UK passport is no exception, with the theme of “Creative United Kingdom” tying all the page designs together, celebrating over 500 years of artists, landmarks and architecture, the performing arts and iconic innovations – including this spread for the London Underground, prominently featuring the Tube Map. […]

Official Map: Geographical “London Connections” Map by TfL

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Official Maps

Here’s a map that’s been doing the rounds over the last few days, and has now been sent my way by many, many readers (Thanks to all of you!). Compared to the familiar standard Tube map, It’s a more geographically accurate map of rail services in and around London (as of late 2014), and opinions on it seem to be quite divided. Some people think it’s more useful than the normal Tube map, some think […]

Historical Diagram: Piccadilly Circus Tube Station by Renzo Picasso, 1929

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Cutaway Maps, Historical Maps

We all know that I love a good cutaway diagram, and this example – drawn by Italian architect and urban designer, Renzo Picasso (no relation) – is just superb. Drawn in 1929, coinciding with the opening of Charles Holden’s sub-surface circular booking hall which replaced the original 1906 above-ground Leslie Green-designed station building. The unusual perspective, halfway between the platform level and the (invisible) roads above, permits a wonderful level of clarity in the drawing.  […]

Official Map: London Night Tube Services, 2015

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Official Maps

It’s almost bizarre to think that an enormous cosmopolitan city like London doesn’t have 24-hour rail service. Yes, there’s an extensive night bus network, but the Tube is such an integral part of the city that it seems odd that it just stops after midnight.  However, that’s about to change on Fridays and Saturdays from September 12, as shown on this new map from Transport for London. I’ve already seen some positive commentary on it […]

Photo: Willesden Junction, Not Willesden Green!

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Official Maps

A very obvious sticker hides a rather monumental error on this Bakerloo Line strip map. The rather ugly abbreviation “Junct” only just covers up the fact that this sign used to read “Willesden Green” – which is on the Jubilee Line, not the Bakerloo! Prior to 1979 and the opening of the Jubilee Line, Willesden Green was serviced by Bakerloo trains – but we can’t even blame an old sign here, as this one only dates from the […]

Neon Subway Maps by Petr Koll

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Miscellany

Really nice work here. What I love most is that these aren’t just neon copies of the official maps (that’s London above, not really looking like Beck’s map at all) but are the artist’s own interpretation of each system. Click on the source attribution below to go see all the other systems on the designer’s website – he’s made installations based on many cities, including Paris, New York, Tokyo and others. Side note: shame on […]