London Bus Map ... 'connecting places' - a visual journey planner
The London Tube+Train Map and the London Bus Map are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
The London Tube + Train Map is a visual journey planner for combined tube, train and trams services. The many of us are visual-spatial learners and can enjoy the visual game of diagrams. Others prefer verbal communication so may ask their phone assistant or other travelers on route. As visual journey planner the map can unlock the visual combination of the tube and train networks as a fast-to-understand integrated travel system.
Compare complexities with the official TfL/National Rail map London's Rail and Tube Services.
Loose the route of the most popular Elizabeth Line on the official Transport-for-London (TfL) Tube Map.
See our related bus map London Bus Map - buses, tubes, trains and trams - 'connecting places' using a new
Expert Maxwell Roberts in his book Tube Map Travels gives a viewpoint on alternative London tube maps."Few maps are able to match the aplomb of Quickmap (London Metro Map 2019) in using gentle curves to link straight segments. The slightly off-vertical lines are intended to emphasis the feeling of dynamic flow. The complexity of the non-Underground lines is tamed using a thinner stroke." His research and design is essential viewing/reading for those furthering understanding; see his Tube Map Central which is 'dedicated to the Science and Art of Transit Map Design'.
Historically this type of network mapping stems from Harry Beck's self-motivated diagram London Underground Map from 1933. From the Londonist read about the History of the Tube Map.
The diagrammatic rules of the Metro Map retain the geometry of the official Tube Map by setting out lines only on the N (North) NE E SE S SW W NW compass directions. The small but significant departure from Tube Map geometric rules comes where straight graphic lines change in direction. The new rule allows for varying arcs at the points of directional change. This offers wider design scope than the Tube Map with its fixed small radius curves. The arc softening is seen as easing the readers eye around the graphic network thus speeding the perception of travel across the network. Another change is the graphic separation into two networks; those of the traditional London Underground with wide coloured lines associated with the high frequency services, and those of the area network train lines with thin coloured lines over a common wide white line. The station text size is diminutive in respect to the graphic lines but all text rules such as no overlapping and retaining full names are kept. The interchange station circle has an expanded set of sizes and shapes to accommodate more services through key stations. This graphic language is common on international metro diagrams. The map slant is purely a defining feature which has also been used in the past by the Paris RATP metro map.
Quickmap's London all-on-one pocket map including an inner London portion of the London Tube+Train Map, with QRs for all London.
The Map Room is a blog about London travel maps by J. Crowe - "Complaints that Londons Tube map has gotten too complicated".
Article published by Bloomberg on 2nd June 2022
MapLab: Is It Time For an Overhaul of the London Tube Map?
The opening of Crossrail has added complexity to an already crowded map. Critics say it’s time to start over with a new design.
“Let's just be blunt here,” said Maxwell J. Roberts, lecturer in psychology at the University of Essex and transit map designer, “The current basemap (the official London Tube Map from TfL) is a piece of design garbage.”
Bloomberg CityLab, Marie Patino
Old Oak Common located on the Tube+Train map
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