All posts tagged: Europe

Photo – Official Map: Rhätische Bahn, Switzerland, 2013

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The Rhätishe Bahn (or Rhaetian Railway) is a publically-owned Swiss railway, serving the huge and mountainous canton of Graübunden. The Swiss Federal Railways extend only a few kilometres over the cantonal border to the capital at Chur, as seen at the top of this interesting little map. Placed underneath the window on trains, between facing rows of seats, this map features something I’ve never seen on a diagrammatic map before: elevation contours. Four colours — green, […]

Future Map: Paris Métro, RER and Tram Expansion Plans to 2030

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Once hemmed in by old city walls, then by the Boulevard Périphérique, the Paris Métro has rarely ventured outside the city proper into the suburbs. That is about to change with the ambitious “Le Grand Paris” plans shown here. Extensions of the existing Métro Lines 11 and 14 will take them far out into the Île-de-France, while new Lines 15, 16, 17 and 18 will encircle the region with orbital routes. Extensions to the RER E […]

Historical Map: Liverpool Overhead Railway, c. 1935

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The Liverpool Overhead Railway operated from 1893 to 1956, and was a unique example of an American-style elevated railway in the United Kingdom. It was the world’s first electric elevated railway and the first to use automatic signalling and electric signal lights. Serving Liverpool’s then thriving docks, it quickly earned the affectionate nickname, “The Dockers’ Umbrella”, as the elevated structure sheltered dock workers from the rain as they moved from dock to dock. This attractive […]

Submission – Offical Map: Water Transport Routes, St. Petersburg, Russia

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Submitted by nelequetan. Here’s a very pleasant map that shows the “Akvabusy” water transportation routes in St. Petersburg, Russia, which were introduced only a few years ago in 2010. The service only runs from the end of May until October each year as the city’s rivers and canals all freeze over in winter. The fleet – as shown at the bottom of the map – consists of everything from small 12-seat water taxis all the […]

Official Map: Timetable/Service Frequency Map, S-Bahn RheinNeckar, Germany

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Here’s an interesting little map from one of Germany’s newest S-Bahn networks (established in 2003): a system map combined with some basic timetable information, which in turn illustrates how the lines interweave traffic to create higher frequency service along the central spine of the network. The map only shows major or interchange stations: enough to give a sense of timing without overwhelming the map with too much information. As you can see, each route only […]

Submission – Official Map: Szeged, Hungary, 2013

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Submitted by fuckyeahgmetro, who says: Hi, this is the official map of SzKT, the company running trams and trolley buses in the Hungarian city Szeged. I think it is in a very good place to run for the worst transit map “designed” ever! Transit Maps says: I’ll certainly agree that this map is really quite atrocious. But it’s not even really close to the very worst transit maps out there. It’s certainly a lazy, slipshod effort […]

Historical Map: Diagram of Tube Services, 7:00am, September 28, 1940

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Here’s a fantastic historical document – a tube map used by engineers in London to mark out the status of services on the Underground during World War II. By the look of it, this map was updated at least daily, if not even more often, as this date falls squarely within the Blitz – a period where London was bombed for 57 consecutive nights by the Luftwaffe. The map itself looks like a modified hand-drawn […]

Photo: Moscow Metro Line Maps

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A good example of how something that’s probably perfectly clear to locals can be totally confusing to foreign visitors. The first obstacle is obviously the Cyrillic text, which automatically makes things very tricky for non-natives. Now, I’ve spent quite a bit of time translating and cross-referencing the text here with a Moscow Metro map, and I think I’ve got it worked out — but this isn’t exactly a luxury that you would have when you’re […]

“Stitched Subways – London” by Susan Stockwell, 2007

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One of the loveliest reinventions of the London Tube Map I’ve seen so far – simply red thread stitched onto rice paper. It’s bigger than it looks: 100cm wide by 30cm deep, so it would certainly look impressive on a wall! Source: Susan’s website

Historical Map: “Explore the Yorkshire Coast” Poster, c. 1950s

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Simply gorgeous mid-century poster designed for British Rail’s North Eastern Division by the prolific graphic artist, Reginald Lander (1913–1982). Yorkshire has never looked better, or so warm… look at all those people in bathing suits frolicking in the hot sun! The simplified map suits the angular design of the underlying painted scene perfectly, a real synthesis of design and art coming together as a cohesive whole. The section of line between Pickering and Whitby via […]