{"id":1789846,"date":"2020-12-22T13:03:01","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T18:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1789846"},"modified":"2020-12-22T13:03:01","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T18:03:01","slug":"tube-map-adds-thameslink-stations-becomes-more-even-complicated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/12\/tube-map-adds-thameslink-stations-becomes-more-even-complicated\/","title":{"rendered":"Tube Map Adds Thameslink Stations, Becomes More Even Complicated"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
Transport for London<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Complaints that London\u2019s Tube map has gotten too complicated are not new<\/a>. So it\u2019s not too surprising that Transport for London\u2019s decision to add Thameslink rail services to the Tube map as of next month<\/a>\u2014temporarily, as a means of illustrating alternative travel options in the age of social distancing\u2014is generating some heat. Thameslink already appears on TfL\u2019s Tube and Rail map<\/a>, but adding it to the Tube map proper is in some quarters seen as the final straw. Jonn Elledge at On London<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

Once a design classic, the map has been ugly, and getting uglier, for a while. The rot started to set in with the baffling decision to show the fare zones using a series of irregular grey polygons that make it look like the familiar shape of the Tube network had been painted against the backdrop of the sort of artwork you\u2019d find lining the corridors of a Gatwick Airport hotel sometime in the late 1980s.<\/p>\n

But the bigger problem is that Transport for London have thrown more and more services onto the map without any apparent consideration for what it might need to change in order to accommodate them. Most of the map is still given over to the northern half of London, even though a growing share of the services it shows (the Overground, Tramlink, now Thameslink) are south of the river.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Diamond Geezer has some specific questions<\/a> about what the map is doing. On YouTube, Geoff Marshall is more positive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new map isn\u2019t up on the TfL site yet, but can be seen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Previously: Has the Tube Map Become Too Complicated?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Complaints that London\u2019s Tube map has gotten too complicated are not new. So it\u2019s not too surprising that Transport for London\u2019s decision to add Thameslink rail services to the Tube map as of next month\u2014temporarily,… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[166,203,204],"class_list":["post-1789846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-transit","tag-london","tag-tfl","tag-tube","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1810130,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/11\/part-two-of-unfinished-londons-tube-map-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789846,"position":0},"title":"Part Two of Unfinished London’s Tube Map History","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"29 November 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/jaEhvWXmLyk And here\u2019s part two of Jay Foreman\u2019s history of London Tube\u2019s map, which looks at its post-Beck existence and increasing clutter and complication. (To say nothing of Beck\u2019s post-map existence.) Part one is here. Previously: Unfinished London: History of the Tube Map; Kenneth Field: \u2018Dump the Map\u2019; So the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Transit"","block_context":{"text":"Transit","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/transit\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/jaEhvWXmLyk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1807556,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/06\/so-the-launch-of-the-new-tube-map-seems-to-be-going-well\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789846,"position":1},"title":"So the Launch of the New Tube Map Seems to Be Going Well","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"2 June 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"A new version of London\u2019s tube map dropped a couple of weeks ago. It incorporates the new Elizabeth line\u2014as well as IKEA logos indicating which stations are near their stores (IKEA paid \u00a3800,000 to sponsor the map). The Evening Standard talks with Transport for London chief designer Jon Hunter about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Transit"","block_context":{"text":"Transit","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/transit\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tube map (2022)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/tube-map-2022-1024x820.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/tube-map-2022-1024x820.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/tube-map-2022-1024x820.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/tube-map-2022-1024x820.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1788154,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/12\/has-the-tube-map-become-too-complicated\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789846,"position":2},"title":"Has the Tube Map Become Too Complicated?","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"20 December 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"London\u2019s Tube map is buckling under its own weight: the latest version includes a suburban line to\u00a0Reading, with more additions coming in the future. CityLab looks at the concerns that the Tube map has become too complex and unwieldy to be used, particularly by people unfamiliar with the city.","rel":"","context":"In "Transit"","block_context":{"text":"Transit","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/transit\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1834360,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2024\/10\/the-truth-about-harry-beck-a-play-about-the-tube-maps-creator\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789846,"position":3},"title":"The Truth About Harry Beck: A Play About the Tube Map’s Creator","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"3 October 2024","format":"link","excerpt":"The Truth About Harry Beck, a play about the designer of London\u2019s iconic Tube map, is at the London Transport Museum\u2019s Cubic Theatre through January. Writer and director Andy Burden spent years working on the play. So far reviews have been mostly positive: Theatre Vibe\u2019s Lizzie Loveridge found it \u201ccharming,\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Transit"","block_context":{"text":"Transit","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/transit\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/the-truth-about-harry-beck.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/the-truth-about-harry-beck.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/the-truth-about-harry-beck.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/the-truth-about-harry-beck.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/the-truth-about-harry-beck.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/the-truth-about-harry-beck.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1809224,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/09\/unfinished-london-history-of-the-tube-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789846,"position":4},"title":"Unfinished London: History of the Tube Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"29 September 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cTLCfl01zuE Jay Foreman\u2019s look at the history of London\u2019s Tube map is presented as part of his Unfinished London series, rather than as an episode of Map Men, of which he is half, so it\u2019s in a slightly different mode. Slightly. It\u2019s also just the first part.","rel":"","context":"In "Transit"","block_context":{"text":"Transit","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/transit\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/cTLCfl01zuE\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":695,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/02\/redrawing-the-london-tube-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1789846,"position":5},"title":"Redrawing the London Tube Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"3 February 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"Designer Cameron Booth wondered whether\u00a0London's Tube Map could simply be drawn better. \"There\u2019s no doubt in my mind that the current iteration of the Tube Map is a diagram that\u2019s almost completely forgotten that it is one. There\u2019s very little rhythm, balance or flow to the composition of the map\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Transit"","block_context":{"text":"Transit","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/transit\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Back to Beck Tube Map","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tube-cameron-booth-1024x362.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tube-cameron-booth-1024x362.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tube-cameron-booth-1024x362.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tube-cameron-booth-1024x362.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1789846"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1789852,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1789846\/revisions\/1789852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1789846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1789846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1789846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}