The very best transit diagrams have every element working in harmony to present a cohesive visual message. When even one element is out of place, a map can suffer. When that element is as important as the depiction of the region’s geography, the results can be disastrous, as shown by this map of Rotterdam’s Metro. Have we been there? No. What we like: The routes themselves are shown very clearly, with interchange stations and the […]
The simplified rectilinear grid is such a familiar form for transit maps that when we see something that breaks that mould, the results can be visually stunning. That’s certainly the case with this beautiful map from designer Erik Hammink, who uses the natural circular shape of Amsterdam’s canals to great effect. Have we been there? Yes, although I’ve only used the tram network rather than the Metro service. What we like: Lovely, minimalist European design, […]
Milan’s Metropolitana subway system is Italy’s largest, and is supported by a comprehensive network of suburban and regional trains. It’s also linked by an amazing tram system, but no indication of those services, or connections to it, are presented on this map. Have we been there? Yes, although I didn’t use the Metro, preferring to walk around Milan’s dense historic core. What we like: Use of blue for the thinner suburban rail lines gives them […]
Another map that asks the question: how much abstraction and geographical simplification is too much? From what I understand, this map of the Madrid Metro system has proved somewhat controversial since its introduction in 2007. Unlike most other diagrammatic maps, this one completely eschews even 45-degree angles: reducing the map to its most basic form – and one even further removed from the city’s underlying geography. Have we been there? No, but would love to! […]
Requested by clubmaintenant. Another fine example of a multimodal map, this time from Lyon, France. This map shows Métro, tram, bus and funicular service, as well as indications of connections to SNCF mainline train services in a map that wears its London Underground influences on its sleeve. Have we been there? No. What we like: Lovely clear layout, with almost all lines reduced to horizontals or verticals – only a few 45-degree route lines are […]
I love this old wayfinding route map in the Madrid Metro. Source: Leticia Ayuso/Flickr
Further to my previous posts, here’s a couple more maps from East and West Berlin, this time from 1984. Both are much better-designed than the examples shown earlier, and West Berlin has taken on the “U-number” line names that we know so well today. No further comments as the basic principles still hold true for each map – presented for comparison and completeness only.
As a direct contrast to my previous post, here’s the East Berlin perspective of transit in that divided city. Notice anything? West Berlin has almost been entirely excised from the map: a small, empty, featureless area totally encircled by extensive East German rail lines as well as the Berlin Wall: here referred to as the “state border”. A powerful statement of East German superiority if there ever was one. Have we been there? Yes. What […]
Berlin’s troubled post-World War II history led to a fascinating dual history for transit in that city, divided into East and West sectors. This West Berlin U-Bahn map from 1977 – at the height of the Cold War – shows that division in a stark, but also curiously understated fashion. The infamous Berlin Wall that completely divided the city is prosaically referred to as a Sektorengrenze, or “sector boundary”. All U-Bahn lines are still shown, […]
Venice is one of those places that has to be experienced to fully appreciate it. Forever and inextricably tied to the ocean, Venice’s transit system has always been vaporetti and traghetti rather than buses and trains. You walk, or you get on a boat – there is no other way to get around. As shown in my photo above (taken on a misty morning at the Ferrovia wharf), there’s a certain sense of mystery and […]
