The Tube map (sometimes called the London Underground map) is a
schematic
A schematic, or schematic diagram, is a designed representation of the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures. A schematic usually omits all details that are not relevant to the key information the sc ...
transport map of the lines, stations and services of the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
, known colloquially as "the Tube", hence the map's name. The first schematic Tube map was designed by
Harry Beck
Henry Charles Beck (4 June 190218 September 1974) was an English technical draughtsman who created the present London Underground Tube map in 1931. Beck drew the diagram after being fired at the London Metro Signal Office. Although his design ...
in 1931.
[1933 map](_blank)
from Since then, it has been expanded to include more of
London's public transport systems, including the
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Londo ...
,
London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...
, the
Elizabeth line
The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid Urban rail, urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of London Paddington statio ...
,
Tramlink
London Trams, previously Tramlink and Croydon Tramlink, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It began operation in 2000, the first tram system in the London region since 1952. It is manage ...
, the
London Cable Car and
Thameslink
Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...
.
As a schematic diagram, it shows not the geographic locations but the relative positions of the
stations
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle statio ...
,
lines
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Arts ...
, the stations' connective relations and
fare zones. The basic design concepts have been widely adopted for other such maps around the world
and for maps of other sorts of transport networks and even conceptual schematics.
A regularly-updated version of the map is available from the official
Transport for London website. In 2006, the Tube map was voted one of Britain's top 10 design icons which included
Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
,
Mini
The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
,
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
,
K2 telephone box,
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
and the
AEC Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport Executive, London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The ...
bus. Since 2004,
Art on the Underground
Art on the Underground, previously called ''Platform for Art'', is Transport for London's (TfL) contemporary public art programme. It commissions permanent and temporary artworks for London Underground, as well as commissioning artists to create ...
has been commissioning artists to create
covers for the pocket Tube map.
History
Early maps
As London's early transport system was operated by a variety of independent companies, there were no complete maps of the network, just for the individual companies' routes. The maps were not typically schematic and were simply the line overlaid on a regular
city map
A city map is a large-scale thematic map of a city (or part of a city) created to enable the fastest possible orientation in an urban space. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduced ...
. There was no integration of the companies' services or any co-operation in advertising.
In 1907, ''
The Evening News'' commissioned a pocket map, The Evening News London "Tube Map". It was the first map to show all of the lines with equal weight being given to each line, and it was the first map to use a different colour for each line.
from
Another early combined map was published in 1908 by the
Underground Electric Railways Company of London
The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an und ...
(UERL) in conjunction with four other underground railway companies that used the "Underground" brand as part of a common advertising factor.
![Tube map 1908-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Tube_map_1908-2.jpg)
The map showed eight routes – four operated by the UERL and one from each of the other four companies:
* UERL lines:
**
Bakerloo Railway – brown
**
Hampstead Railway – indigo
**
Piccadilly Railway – yellow
**
District Railway
The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the first par ...
– green
* Other lines:
**
Central London Railway
The Central London Railway (CLR), also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railwayA "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a cylindrical tunnel by the use of a tunnelling shield, usually deep below gr ...
– blue
**
City and South London Railway
The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first successful deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use electric traction. The railway was originally intended for cable-hauled trains, but owing ...
– black
**
Great Northern and City Railway
The Northern City Line is a commuter railway line in England, which runs from Moorgate station to Finsbury Park in London with services running beyond. It is part of the Great Northern Route services, and operates as the south-eastern branch ...
– orange
**
Metropolitan Railway
The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
– red
A geographical map presented restrictions since for sufficient clarity of detail in the crowded central area of the map required the extremities of the District and Metropolitan lines to be omitted and so a full network diagram was not provided. The problem of truncation remained for nearly half a century. Although all of the western branches of the District and Piccadilly lines were included for the first time in 1933 with
Harry Beck
Henry Charles Beck (4 June 190218 September 1974) was an English technical draughtsman who created the present London Underground Tube map in 1931. Beck drew the diagram after being fired at the London Metro Signal Office. Although his design ...
's first proper Tube map, the portion of the
Metropolitan line
The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line i ...
beyond did not appear until 1938, and the eastern end of the
District line
The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited servic ...
did not appear until the mid-1950s.
The route map continued to be developed and was issued in various formats and artistic styles until 1920, when, for the first time, the geographic background detail was omitted in a map designed by
MacDonald Gill
Leslie MacDonald Gill (6 October 1884 – 14 January 1947), commonly known as MacDonald Gill or Max Gill, was a noted early-twentieth-century British graphic designer, cartographer, artist and architect.
Biography
Born in Brighton, Gill was the ...
.
[1920 map](_blank)
from That freed the design to enable greater flexibility in the positioning of lines and stations. The routes became more stylised but the arrangement remained, largely, geographic in nature. The 1932 edition was the last geographic map to be published before Beck's diagrammatic map was introduced.
Beck's maps
The first diagrammatic map of London's rapid transit network was designed by
Harry Beck
Henry Charles Beck (4 June 190218 September 1974) was an English technical draughtsman who created the present London Underground Tube map in 1931. Beck drew the diagram after being fired at the London Metro Signal Office. Although his design ...
in 1931.
He was a London Underground employee who realised that because the railway ran mostly underground, the physical locations of the stations were largely irrelevant to the traveller wanting to know how to get from one station to another; only the
topology
In mathematics, topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformations, such ...
of the route mattered. That approach is similar to that of electrical
circuit diagram
A circuit diagram (wiring diagram, electrical diagram, elementary diagram, electronic schematic) is a graphical representation of an electrical circuit. A pictorial circuit diagram uses simple images of components, while a schematic diagram s ...
s although they were not the inspiration for Beck's map. His colleagues pointed out the similarities, however, and he once produced a joke map with the stations replaced by electrical circuit symbols and names, with terminology such as "
Bakerlite" for the
Bakerloo line
The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that goes from in suburban north-west London to in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs partly ...
.
To that end, Beck devised a simplified map with stations, straight-line segments connecting them, and the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
; and lines running only vertically, horizontally, or on 45° diagonals. To make the map clearer and to emphasise connections, Beck differentiated between ordinary stations, marked with tick marks, and
interchange station
An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system that allows passengers to change from one route to another, often without having to leave a station or pay an additional ...
s, marked with diamonds. London Underground was initially sceptical of his proposal since it was an uncommissioned spare-time project and was tentatively introduced to the public in a small pamphlet in 1933. However, it immediately became popular, and the Underground has used
topological map
In cartography and geology, a topological map is a type of diagram that has been simplified so that only vital information remains and unnecessary detail has been removed. These maps lack scale, also distance and direction are subject to change a ...
s to illustrate the network ever since.
Despite the complexity of making the map, Beck was paid just ten
guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
s for the artwork and design of the card edition (five guineas for the poster). After its initial success, he continued to design the Tube map until 1960, a single (and unpopular) 1939 edition by Hans Scheger being the only exception.
[1939 map](_blank)
from Meanwhile, as well as accommodating new lines and stations, Beck continually altered the design, such as changing the interchange symbol from a diamond to a circle and altering the line colours of the
Central line from orange to red and of the Bakerloo line from red to brown. Beck's final design, in 1960, bears a strong resemblance to the current map. Beck lived in
Finchley
Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross.
Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...
,
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nort ...
, and one of his maps is still preserved on the southbound platform at
Finchley Central station
Finchley Central is a London Underground station in the Church End, Finchley, Church End area of Finchley, north London. The station is located on the High Barnet tube station, High Barnet branch of the Northern line, between West Finchley tube ...
, on the
Northern line
The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...
.
In 1997, Beck's importance was posthumously recognised, and as of 2022, this statement is printed on every Tube map: "This diagram is an evolution of the original design conceived in 1931 by Harry Beck".
After Beck
![London Underground Zone 1 Highlighted](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/London_Underground_Zone_1_Highlighted.svg)
By 1960, Beck had fallen out with the Underground's publicity officer, Harold Hutchison, who was not a designer himself but drafted his own version of the Tube map that year. It removed the smoothed corners of Beck's design and created some highly cramped areas (most notably around
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...
), and the lines were generally less straight. However, Hutchison also introduced interchange symbols (circles for Underground-only, squares for connections with
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
main line services) that were black and allowed multiple lines through them, as opposed to Beck, who used one circle for each line at an interchange, coloured according to the corresponding line.
In 1964, the design of the map was taken over by Paul Garbutt, who, like Beck, had produced a map in his spare time because of his dislike of the Hutchison design. Garbutt's map restored curves and bends to the diagram but retained Hutchison's black interchange circles, although squares were replaced with circles with a dot inside. Garbutt continued to produce Underground maps for at least another 20 years. Tube maps stopped bearing their designer's name in 1986, when the elements of the map then had a very strong resemblance to today's map.
While the standard Tube map avoided representing most mainline services, a new variant of the map issued in 1973, the "London's Railways" map, was the first to depict Tube and aboveground mainline rail services in a diagrammatic style that closely matched to Beck's designs. That version was created by Tim Demuth of the London Transport publicity office and was jointly sponsored by British Rail and London Transport. Demuth's map did not replace the standard Tube map but continued to be published as a supplementary resource, later known as the "London Connections" map.
Recent years
Some alterations have been made to the map over the years. More recent designs have incorporated changes to the network, such as the
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Londo ...
and the
extension
Extension, extend or extended may refer to:
Mathematics
Logic or set theory
* Axiom of extensionality
* Extensible cardinal
* Extension (model theory)
* Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate
* E ...
to the
Jubilee line
The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in east London and in the suburban north-west, via the Docklands, South Bank and West End. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the Underground network, although some secti ...
. The map has also been expanded to include routes brought under
Transport for London control such as
TfL Rail
TfL Rail was the concession which operated commuter services on two separate railway lines in London, England and its environs whilst the Crossrail construction project linking these lines was underway. On 24 May 2022, upon the opening of the ...
and to note the Tube stops that connect with
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 ...
services, links to airports and
River Services. In some cases, stations within short walking distance are now shown, often with the distance between them, such as 's distance from (an evolution of the pedestrian route between
Bank and Monument stations
Bank and Monument are interlinked London Underground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) stations that form a public transport complex spanning the length of King William Street in the City of London. Bank station, named after the Bank of Engl ...
, which was once prominently marked on the map). Further, step-free access notations are also incorporated in the current map.
In addition, the
fare zones have been added to help passengers judge the cost of a journey. Nevertheless, the map remains true to Beck's original scheme, and many other transport systems use schematic maps to represent their services that are likely inspired by Beck. A facsimile of Beck's original design is on display on the southbound platform at his local station, Finchley Central.
Despite the large number of versions over the years, the perception of many users is that the current map is, more or less, Beck's original version from the 1930s, a testament to the effectiveness of his design. Beck drew versions with other formats, 22.5°, rather than 45° (the
Paris Métro
The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the Paris, city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform ar ...
version uses 22.5° degrees as a base), as well as an unused version for the
1948 Olympic Games.
One of the major changes to be made to the revision of the Tube map put out in September 2009 was the removal of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
. The river had been omitted from official maps on several previous occasions (for example, according to David Leboff and Tim Demuth's book, in 1907, 1908 and 1919), and from 1921 it was absent for several years on pocket maps designed by
MacDonald Gill
Leslie MacDonald Gill (6 October 1884 – 14 January 1947), commonly known as MacDonald Gill or Max Gill, was a noted early-twentieth-century British graphic designer, cartographer, artist and architect.
Biography
Born in Brighton, Gill was the ...
. The Thames-free 2009 version was the first time that the river did not appear on the Tube map since the Stringemore pocket map of 1926. The latest removal resulted in widespread international media attention, and general disapproval from most Londoners as well as from the then
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...
,
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
. Based on the reaction, the following edition of the diagram in December 2009 reinstated both the river and fare zones.
In more recent years, TfL has expanded its rail services, notably with the expansion of the
London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...
network, which has taken over a number of National Rail lines and brought them into the TfL network, each of them being converted lines being added to the Tube map. Further additions have been made such as the London Cable Car and the boundaries of fare zones. Some commentators have suggested that Beck's design should be replaced with a new design that can incorporate the new lines more comfortably.
Pocket map covers
Since 2004,
Art on the Underground
Art on the Underground, previously called ''Platform for Art'', is Transport for London's (TfL) contemporary public art programme. It commissions permanent and temporary artworks for London Underground, as well as commissioning artists to create ...
has commissioned various British and international artists to create a cover for the pocket map.
These free maps are one of the largest public art commissions in the UK, with millions of copies printed.
Over 35 different designs have been produced, from artists such as
Rachel Whiteread
Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993.
Whiteread was one of the Young British Ar ...
,
Yayoi Kusama
is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation, and is also active in painting, performance, video art, fashion, poetry, fiction, and other arts. Her work is based in conceptual art and shows some attributes ...
,
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Associate of the Royal Academy, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawi ...
and
Daniel Buren
Daniel Buren (born 25 March 1938, in Boulogne-Billancourt) is a French conceptual artist, painter, and sculptor. He has won numerous awards including the Golden Lion for best pavilion at the Venice Biennale (1986), the International Award for ...
.
Technical aspects
The designers of the map have tackled a variety of problems in showing information as clearly as possible and have sometimes adopted different solutions.
The font for the map, including station names, is
Johnston, which uses perfect circles for the letter 'O'. That is historic and the generic font for all TfL uses from station facades to bus destination blinds.
Line colours
The table below shows the changing use of colours since Beck's first map. The current colours are taken from Transport for London's colour standards guide,
[ -- Now superseded b]
Version 4
which defines the precise colours from the
Pantone
Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphic ...
palette and also a colour naming scheme that is particular to TfL. Earlier maps were limited by the number of colours available that could be clearly distinguished in print. Improvements in
colour printing
Color printing or colour printing is the reproduction of an image or text in color (as opposed to simpler black and white
or monochrome printing). Any natural scene or color photograph can be optically and physiologically dissected into three ...
technology have reduced that problem and the map has coped with the identification of new lines without great difficulty.
Pecked lines have at various times indicated construction, limited service, or sections closed for renovation.
Station marks
From the start, interchange stations were given a special mark to indicate their importance, but its shape has changed over the years. In addition, since 1960, marks were used to identify stations that offered connections with
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
(now
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 ...
). The following shapes have been used:
* Circle (one for each line or station, where convenient) – standard default mark
* Circle (one for each station) – 1938 experimental map
* Diamond (one for each line) – early 1930s
* Square – interchange with British Railways, 1960–1964
* Circle with a dot inside – interchange with British Rail, 1964–1970
Since 1970 the map has used a reversed (red on white) British Rail "double arrow" beside the station name to indicate main line interchanges. Where the main line station has a different name from the Underground station that it connects with, since 1977 this has been shown in a box. The distance between the Tube station and the main line station is now shown.
Contemporary maps have marked stations offering step-free access with a blue circle containing a wheelchair symbol in white.
Stations with links to airports (
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3,
Terminal 4, and
Terminal 5 for
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
and the
DLR station at City Airport) are shown with a black aeroplane symbol.
Since 2000, stations with a nearby interchange to river bus piers on the Thames have been marked with a small boat symbol to promote
London River Services
London River Services Limited is a division of Transport for London (TfL), which manages passenger transport—leisure-oriented tourist services and commuter services—on the River Thames in London. It does not own or operate any boats itself ...
.
When
Eurostar
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...
services used , the Eurostar logo was shown next to
Waterloo station
Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...
. In November 2007, the terminus was transferred to
St Pancras International
St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It i ...
.
Lines or services
The Tube map aims to make the complicated network of services easy to understand, but it is not possible to have complete information about the services that operate on each line.
Limited-service routes have sometimes been identified with hatched lines, with some complications added to the map to show where peak-only services ran through to branches such as that to
Chesham
Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordsh ...
on the Metropolitan line. The number of routes with a limited service has declined in recent years, as patronage has recovered from its early-1980s low. As there are now fewer restrictions to show, most of the remaining ones are now indicated in the accompanying text, rather than by special line markings.
Official versions
The Tube map exists to help passengers navigate the London rapid transit network, and whether it should play a wider role in helping people navigate London itself has been questioned. The question has been raised as to whether mainline railways should be shown on the map, particularly those in
Inner London
Inner London is the name for the group of London boroughs which form the interior part of Greater London and are surrounded by Outer London. With its origins in the bills of mortality, it became fixed as an area for statistics in 1847 and was use ...
. The Underground has largely resisted adding additional services to the standard Tube map and instead produces separate maps with different information, including:
Standard Tube map Shows all Underground, Overground, DLR, TfL Rail, Tramlink and Thameslink routes and stations, and fare zones.
Large print Tube map As above but with larger print.
Walking distance map Shows walking times between stations in the central London area.
Toilet facilities map Shows toilet facilities at stations.
Bikes on trains map: Shows which routes allow bicycles to be taken on trains during peak times.
Night Tube map Shows Night Tube services.
Avoiding stairs Tube guide Shows which stations have lifts, escalators or ramps to platforms.
Tube Map Showing Tunnels Shows sections of lines that are in tunnel. Designed to help users with claustrophobia or other anxiety conditions.
* London Connections map: Produced by the
Association of Train Operating Companies
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), previously the Association of Train Operating Companies, is the British rail industry membership body that brings together passenger and freight rail companies, Network Rail and High Speed 2.
History
From 24 Oc ...
(ATOC), this provided the same information as TfL's Travelcard Zones map but extended further beyond
fare zones 7–9. National Rail lines were emphasised by thicker lines and coloured according to their
train operating company
A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating Passenger Trains, passenger trains on the Rail transport in Great Britain, railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the Privatisation ...
(TOC). This map was replaced by the Oyster Rail Services map.
Maps are produced in different sizes, the most common being Quad Royal (40 × 50 inches) poster size and Journey Planner pocket size. The maps showing all the National Rail routes provide useful additional information at the expense of considerably increased complexity, as they contain almost 700 stations.
Non-Underground lines on standard map
Some non-Underground lines have appeared on the standard tube map:
* On the early maps that used a geographic background, mainline railways were shown as part of the background detail.
* Prior to its transfer to the London Underground in 1994, the
Waterloo & City line
The Waterloo & City line, colloquially known as The Drain, is a London Underground shuttle line that runs between Waterloo and Bank with no intermediate stops. Its primary traffic consists of commuters from south-west London, Surrey and Hampsh ...
was operated by
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
and its mainline predecessors but has appeared on most Tube maps since the mid-1930s.
* For a short period in the late 1930s to 1940, the section of the
West London line linking
Willesden Junction
Willesden Junction is a railway station in Harlesden, north-west London, UK. It is served by both London Overground and London Underground services.
History
The station developed on three contiguous sites: the West Coast Main Line (WCML) st ...
to the Metropolitan line's
Middle Circle
The Middle Circle was a Great Western Railway service in London that operated from 1872 to 1905. The route was from the District Railway station at Mansion House to Earl's Court, then via the West London Railway to Latimer Road on to the Hamme ...
route at
Uxbridge Road
Uxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in West London. The route starts at Shepherd's Bush Green and goes west towards Uxbridge. It passes through Acton, Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes, and Hillingdon.
Uxbridge Road is a major roa ...
was shown as a service operated by the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
and the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...
. The service was removed when the line closed to passengers in 1940.
This section of the line is today shown as part of the
London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...
.
* The
North London line
The North London line (NLL) is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of west, north-west, north, and east London, England between Richmond in the south-west and Stratford in the east, avoiding central London. Its route is a rou ...
was added to the map in 1977.
[1977 map](_blank)
from Although run by
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
and later by
Silverlink
Silverlink was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the North London Railways franchise from March 1997 until November 2007. At the end of 2007 Silverlink Metro services were taken over by Lond ...
, it was shown in British Rail/National Rail colours, but its appearance was intermittent and was omitted from some map editions over the years. In November 2007, the line was taken over by London Overground and changed to an orange double stripe. The semi-orbital route originally ran from
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
to
Broad Street and later Richmond to
North Woolwich
North Woolwich is an area in the London Borough of Newham in East London. It is located on the northern bank of the River Thames, across the river from Woolwich. It is connected to Woolwich by the Woolwich Ferry and Woolwich foot tunnel.
Des ...
. The line runs now from Richmond to
Stratford.
* The
West London line,
Watford DC Line
The Watford DC line is a suburban line from London Euston to Watford Junction in Watford, Hertfordshire. Its services are operated by London Overground.
The line runs beside the West Coast Main Line (WCML) for most of its length. The London ...
and
Gospel Oak to Barking Line (former British Rail/Silverlink lines) were all added to the standard map in 2007, when they were taken over by London Overground, and all are shown as an orange double stripe.
* The
Northern City Line
The Northern City Line is a commuter railway line in England, which runs from Moorgate station to Finsbury Park in London with services running beyond. It is part of the Great Northern Route services, and operates as the south-eastern branc ...
appeared on the original 1908 map as the Great Northern and City Railway. It later appeared as the Great Northern and City section of the Metropolitan Railway and then, from the late 1930s as part of the Northern line. The service was transferred to
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
in 1975 and continued to appear until recently.
*
Thameslink
Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...
reopened in 1988 after it had been closed for many years. It offers some relief to the Northern line, as it connects King's Cross St Pancras to London Bridge. Only the central sections between Kentish Town and London Bridge/Elephant & Castle were shown. Its appearance on Tube maps had been intermittent since it had been omitted from some map editions over the years, before it was re-added to the official tube map in December 2020.
* The
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Londo ...
, the automatic light rail system in the
London Docklands
London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London Borough of ...
area.
* The
London Cable Car, linking
Greenwich Peninsula
The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in South London, South East London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the River Thames, Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the ...
and
Royal Docks
Royal Docks is an area and a ward in the London Borough of Newham in the London Docklands in East London, England.
The area is named after three docks – the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. They are ...
across the Thames, was added in December 2011.
* The first section of the
Crossrail
Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...
franchise,
TfL Rail
TfL Rail was the concession which operated commuter services on two separate railway lines in London, England and its environs whilst the Crossrail construction project linking these lines was underway. On 24 May 2022, upon the opening of the ...
, was added in May 2015.
* Also in May 2015, the
Chingford line,
Enfield & Cheshunt line, and
Romford–Upminster line
The Romford–Upminster line is a railway branch line in Greater London that connects , on the Great Eastern Main Line, to , on the London, Tilbury and Southend line and London Underground. The route is in length and there is one intermediate ...
were added to the London Overground network on the tube map.
* Tramlink, shown in 2016 as London Trams, was included on the map from June 2016.
* The
Elizabeth line
The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid Urban rail, urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of London Paddington statio ...
was added to the map in May 2022.
When Transport for London expanded its
London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...
service to include the
East London line in 2010, the East London line, extended to Croydon, changed from a solid orange line to a double orange stripe. According to 2007 proposals, the addition of the
South London line
The South London line is a railway line in inner south London, England. The initial passenger service on the route was established by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway on 1 May 1867 when the central London terminal stations of Victoria ...
to London Overground was supposed to cause the southern loop to be added to future Tube maps in late 2010,
[ (map illustrating future development phases as proposed by TfL in 2006, subject to change)] and, as of May 2013, it is up and running.
Underground lines on geographically-accurate maps
Like many other rapid transit maps, because the Tube map ignores geography, it may not accurately depict the relative orientation and distance between stations.
Transport for London formerly published several bus maps that depicted the approximate paths of tube routes relative to major streets and
London bus routes
This is a list of Transport for London (TfL) contracted bus routes in London, England, as well as commercial services that enter the Greater London area (except coaches).
Bus services in London are operated by Abellio London, Arriva London, G ...
. The maps also show locations of certain cultural attractions and geographic landmarks.
Internet mapping services such as
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
offer a "Transit Layer" showing actual routes superimposed on the standard street map. A map shows underground, overground and DLR lines and National Rail stations within Zone 1–2.
Spin-offs and imitations
![London Underground Overground DLR Crossrail map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/London_Underground_Overground_DLR_Crossrail_map.svg)
The 'look' of the London Underground map (including 45° angles, evenly-spaced 'stations' and some geographic distortion) has been emulated by many other underground railway systems around the world. While London Underground have been protective of their copyright they have also allowed their concepts to be shared with other transport operators (
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
's
GVB even pays tribute on its map).
The success of the Tube map as a piece of information design has led to many imitations of its format. What is probably the earliest example is the
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
Railways in Sydney, Suburban and City Underground railway map of 1939. It follows Beck's styling cues, and in size, design and layout, it is nearly a clone of the London map of the late 1930s, right down to the use of the Underground roundel.
In 2002, Transport for London launched a series of London Buses "spider map, spider diagrams" to display at bus stops around the city, conveying bus route information in a schematic style similar to Beck's design, with straight lines and 45° angles depicting geographically distorted bus routes, coloured lines and numbers to differentiate services, and graphical markers to show bus stops. Tube and rail lines are not included, but interchanges are denoted with appropriate symbols by bus stop names, such as the Tube roundel. Unlike the traditional Tube map, the bus maps display services appropriate to specific transport hubs rather than a full network. Each map also contains a central rectangle of a simple geographically accurate street map to display the positions of bus stops; outside the rectangle, the only geographic feature to appear on the bus maps is the River Thames. The maps are also available for electronic download, with map collections ordered by London borough councils.
The bus maps were designed for TfL by the cartographic design company T-Kartor group.
An isochrone map of the network was made available in 2007.
In 2009, British Waterways produced a map of London's waterways in a Tube-style diagrammatic map, depicting the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, the various :Canals in London, canals and Subterranean rivers of London, subterranean rivers in the city.
Attempts to create alternative versions to the official Tube map have continued. In June 2011, the British designer Mark Noad unveiled his vision for a more 'geographically accurate' London Underground map. The map is an attempt to see if it is possible to create a geographically accurate representation of the underground system and still retain some of the clarity of Beck's original diagram. It uses similar principles, fixed-line angles (30° and 60°, instead of 45°) and shortens the extremities of the lines to make it more compact. In 2013, Dr Max Roberts, a psychology lecturer at the University of Essex with a particular interest in usability, information design and schematic mapping, issued his own version of the Tube map. His design, based on a series of concentric circles, emphasised the concept of the newly completed orbirail, orbital loop surrounding Central London with radial lines. A map created to illustrate Tube-related articles on Wikipedia in 2014 was praised for its clarity and for including future developments such as
Crossrail
Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...
.
In July 2015, a map of the network displaying walking calorie burn information for each leg was published by Metro (British newspaper), Metro newspaper.
Cultural references
The design has become so widely known that it is now instantly recognisable as representing London. It has been featured on T-shirts, postcards and other memorabilia. In 2006, the design came second in a televised search for the most well-known British design icon. It is widely cited by academics and designers as a 'design classic',
and those cultural associations make London Underground not usually permit the design to be used or altered for any other purpose. That has been officially sanctioned only on a few occasions:
* David Booth's ''Tate Gallery, The Tate Gallery by Tube'' (1986) is one of a series of publicity posters for the Underground.
[''The Tate Gallery by Tube''](_blank)
from His work showed the lines of the map squeezed out of tubes of paint (with the name of the gallery's nearest station, Pimlico tube station, Pimlico, on a paint-tube) and has since been used on the cover of the pocket map.
* In Tate Modern hangs ''The Great Bear (lithograph), The Great Bear'' by Simon Patterson (artist), Simon Patterson, a subtle parody of the contemporary map design, first displayed in 1992 in which the station names on the Tube map have been replaced by those of famous figures.
* In 2003, to coincide with the publication of a book about tube maps from all over the world, the London Transport Museum released a "World Metro Map" poster that was strongly based on the London diagram and approved by TfL.
* ''Animals on the Underground'' is a collection of over 20 animal characters depicted using only lines, stations and interchange symbols on the London Underground map, created by illustrator Paul Middlewick in 1987. In 2003, the concept was used in a poster campaign by advertising agency McCann-Erickson to promote the London Zoo. In May 2010, a children's storybook was released that used the characters, "Lost Property". It is the story of an elephant called "Elephant & Castle" who loses his memory and is helped by Angel the angel fish. The book was illustrated by Middlewick and written by Jon Sayers, and its official launch took place at the London Transport Museum.
* Albus Dumbledore, a central character in the Harry Potter series, has a scar just above his left knee that is in the shape of a Tube map.
* In 2006, The Guardian published a design based on the tube map, purporting to show the relationships between musicians and musical genres in the 20th century.
* On 11 January 2007, Andrew Adonis, Lord Adonis unveiled a depiction of the map featuring the names of successful schools and students at GCSE level as part of the London Student Awards 2007.
* The Royal Shakespeare Company produced a map in 2007 linking Shakespearean characters according to their traits in a diagram that resembles the map for complexity.
* The game development studio Dinosaur Polo Club created the game ''Mini Metro (video game), Mini Metro'', whose main mechanic is to efficiently connect stations in a strict Harry Beck style.
Stylistic aspects of the London diagram, such as the line colours and styles and the station ticks or interchange symbols, are also frequently used in advertising.
See also
* New York City Subway map
References
Further reading
*
*
*Alexander James Kent, Kent, Alexander J. (2021). "When Topology Trumped Topography: Celebrating 90 Years of Beck’s Underground Map" ''The Cartographic Journal'' 58 (1) pp. 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/00087041.2021.1953765
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External links
{{Commons category, London Underground maps
Tube mapsfrom TfL
Most recent official Tube mapin Portable Document Format, PDF format.
Mark Noad's Underground diagram London Rail and Tube services map successor to the comprehensive London Connections Map
London Underground
Railway maps of the United Kingdom
Infographics
Transport design in London
London Underground in popular culture
Map types
Maps of London