All posts tagged: commuter rail

Submission – Unofficial Maps: Bay Area Rail Transit by Lyle Simmons

January 14, 2016
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Submitted via email by Lyle, who says: The Bay Area has one of the most complex and diverse urban transit systems in the world, including three commuter rail systems, one metro systems, two light rail systems, one heritage streetcar line, and four major bus agencies. Unfortunately, there isn’t an official map linking any of these services together, so I thought I might make one myself. Transit Maps says: There’s a lot to like about the […]

Dezoning the London Tube Map?

January 4, 2016
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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 […]

Unofficial Map – Roman Metro and Suburban Rail Map by Dmitry Goloub

December 18, 2015
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I’ve featured Russian information and type designer Dmitry Goloub’s superb re-imagining of the Milan Metro map previously (October 2013, 5 stars), and now he’s back with his rendition of rail transit in Rome.  This is a commissioned map for the Welcome to Rome tourist magazine, and it’s certainly a step up from many unofficial maps featured in similar publications throughout the world (often, publishers don’t want to pay the licensing fees to use an official […]

Submission – 1952 Berlin S-Bahn Map Recreation by Jesse Jae Hoon Eisenberg

December 17, 2015
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Submitted by Jesse, who says: Inspired by your re-make of the Paris Metro maps, I went and re-made from scratch this map of Berlin from 1952. I used DIN Pro, which seemed like the closest match. I took a few liberties with some of the colors and symbols here and then, but for the most part I’ve tried to stick to the original as closely as possible. Would love to hear what you think! Transit […]

Submission – Historical Map: South Shore Line Railfan Tour Brochure, 1939

December 16, 2015
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Submitted by marmarinou – who runs a cool Tumblr dedicated to Chicago-area railroads and trains. A very basic map of the South Shore Line between Chicago, IL and South Bend, IN appended to the back cover of a railfan tour brochure from 1939. The day-long tour of the line was organised by the Central Electric Railfans Association, which is still extant today. Check out the original source of the image (keep scrolling down) for the inside spread […]

Submission – Virginia Railway Express Commuter Rail Map, 2015

December 14, 2015
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Submitted by Edward Russell, whose photo of this map in situ can be seen here. Edward says: Virginia Railway Express (VRE) updated their map with the addition of the Spotsylvania station on the Fredericksburg (red) line in November. It’s much cleaner than their former map, which included the numerous meanders on the lines and lacked clean 90-degree or 45-degree angles. The new map is just straight lines with a clean 45-degree split where the Manassas […]

Fantasy Future Map: Boston MBTA Commuter Rail North-South Link

December 8, 2015
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A fairly rudimentary map used to promote a European S-Bahn-style central rail tunnel under Boston to link North and South stations and provide through-running commuter rail services. An interesting idea, although I’m not sure that Boston has quite recovered from the last tunnel they built just yet.  The map is functional enough, but could perhaps benefit from a little more “zing” to help it be the true centrepiece of the campaign. Personally, I’d like to […]

Before and After: Regional Rail and Coach Network, Victoria, Australia

November 14, 2015
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It’s always fun to do a “before and after” comparison, and here’s a fantastic example of how a well-drawn diagrammatic map can offer enhanced system legibility over a more geographically-based map. The old map (top), dating from October 2014, is pretty terrible work. Towns and cities are in the right geographical location, but are simply joined by straight lines, which creates a difficult-to-read “spider web” of interconnecting and overlapping routes. Rail lines are shown as both purple […]

Book Review: “Transit Maps of the World”, 2015 Revised Edition by Mark Ovenden

November 2, 2015
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First published in the United Kingdom as Metro Maps of the World in 2003, this book has long been an indispensable reference book for graphic designers, train aficionados, cartographers, and geeks alike. However, its last major revision was in 2007 – and much has changed in the world of transit map design since then. More transit systems, new maps, revised maps, digital and web-based maps, the rise of the amateur map designer and more. Like […]

Official Map – Melbourne and Regional Victoria Night Network Map, Australia, 2015

October 30, 2015
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Sent my way by Nick Stylianou, here’s a map out of Melbourne, Victoria designed to support a major revamp of weekend night time transit in and around that city. For me, this piece continues a worrying recent trend of night service maps that have poor contrast and legibility, simply for the sake of pushing a dark “night” colour theme. This one even has freakin’ stars in the background, which is starting to verge on the ridiculous.  […]