The British Rail Double Arrow is a logo that was created for British Rail (BR), the then state-owned operator of Britain's railway network, in 1965. It has remained in use as part of the

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

brand used for Britain's passenger rail services after the disbanding of British Rail, having been officially renamed as the National Rail Double Arrow and more recently being updated and reworked for continued use under the name Rail Symbol 2.

Origins

The logo grew out of a desire for modernisation in the 1960s, with the management of what was then known as British Railways wanting to divest the organisation of older motifs and develop a corporate identity to rival that of London Transport. BR's design panel set up a working party led by

Milner Gray Milner Gray may refer to: *Milner Gray (politician) Milner Gray (11 May 1871 – 10 April 1943) was a British Liberal politician. Family life and business Gray was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, the son of a Baptist Minister,''Who was Who'', OUP ...

of the

Design Research Unit The Design Research Unit (DRU) was one of the first generation of British design consultancies combining expertise in architecture, graphics and industrial design. It was founded by the managing director of Stuart Advertising Agency, Marcus Brum ...

. They drew up a Corporate Identity Manual which established a coherent brand and design standard for the whole organisation, specifying

Rail Blue The history of British Rail's corporate liveries is quite complex. Although from the mid-1960s to the 1980s the organisation was associated with "Rail Blue", a number of other schemes were also used, especially when it was split into operating u ...

and pearl grey as the standard colour scheme for all rolling stock;

Rail Alphabet Rail Alphabet is a typeface designed by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert for signage on the British Rail network. First used at Liverpool Street station, it was then adopted by the Design Research Unit (DRU) as part of their comprehensive 19 ...

as the standard corporate typeface, designed by

Jock Kinneir Richard "Jock" Kinneir (11 February 1917 – 23 August 1994) was a British typographer and graphic designer who, with his colleague Margaret Calvert, designed many of the road signs used throughout the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies, an ...

and

Margaret Calvert Margaret Vivienne Calvert (born 1936) is a British typographer and graphic designer who, with colleague Jock Kinneir, designed many of the road signs used throughout the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies, and British Overseas Territories, as w ...

; and introducing the now-iconic corporate identity symbol of the "Double Arrow" logo. Designed by

Gerry Barney Gerald Lawrence Barney (born ) is a British designer, best known for his 1965 British Rail Double Arrow, which is still in use in the UK. In 1960, aged 21, Barney started his career at the Design Research Unit (DRU) as a lettering artist, a ...

(also of the DRU), this arrow device was formed of two interlocked arrows across two parallel lines, symbolising a double track railway. The new BR corporate identity and Double Arrow were rolled out in 1965, and the brand name of the organisation was truncated to "British Rail". The logo was used widely by British Rail on trains, stations and tickets. It was also used by subsidiary companies, most notably on

Sealink Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland. Ports served by the company included: Dover, Folkesto ...

ferry funnels, where the standard image was used on the starboard side, but a mirror image on the

port side A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Post-privatisation use

With the privatisation of the railways in the mid-1990s, the

trademark registration A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others. ...

for the logo was transferred to the

Secretary of State for Transport The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent i ...

. As British railway trains are now operated by a number of independent train operating companies, the double arrow logo no longer appears on railway vehicles except those preserved. However it still appears on railway tickets, which can usually be used on the services of a variety of train operators, and is used to denote stations within the

network. As such it is still printed on railway tickets and used to denote railway stations, including usage on street signs pointing to such stations. The logo has traditionally been used in a variety of colours, and in both positive and reversed forms.

Rail Symbol 2

In September 2022 official specifications for an updated version of the logo were released by Network Rail, the body responsible for Britain's national railway infrastructure. Created with the input of graphic designer Nick Job and the Design Council, the revised design appears almost identical to the original but incorporates several adjustments to improve the utility of the logo, including: * Replacement of dark and light variants with a single version * Minor widening of the symbol to give a more practical aspect ratio * Slight adjustment to diagonal arms to improve performance at small sizes The new guidance also details the colours the logo may be reproduced in and specifies how the logo should be used on items such as station signage and flags.

References

{{British Rail British Rail Railway company logos Symbols introduced in 1965