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Author Topic: London Overground lines to be given names and colours from Wednesday (20/11/24)  (Read 12255 times)
JayMac
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« Reply #15 on: March 29, 2023, 17:46:12 »

Here's YouTuber Jago Hazzard's take on the matter.

https://youtu.be/gKBkb3H3Abk
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"Good news for regular users of Euston Station in London! One day they will die. Then they won't have to go to Euston Station ever again." - David Mitchell
JayMac
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« Reply #16 on: July 01, 2023, 15:14:44 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Quote
Six London Overground lines will be named by the end of next year, Transport for London (TfL» (Transport for London - about)) says.

Routes to be named include Euston to Watford Junction, Romford to Upminster and Gospel Oak to Barking, already affectionately dubbed the Goblin line.

TfL believes the move will increase confidence and offer clearer service disruption information.

London Overground, with its orange roundel, will remain as the umbrella brand, according to transport bosses.

TfL says it will consult local groups and transport historians and "is working with the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm to establish broad themes we'll use to guide the community engagement".

It added: "The approach is centred around hearing from the many different communities that live close to the London Overground and how we can represent them through the line names."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "Naming the lines will not only help educate visitors about our amazing city and incredible history but will also make it easier for people who live, work or visit London to more easily navigate the city."

Possibly coincidence but two recent videos from Geoff Marshall and Jago Hazzard both suggested it was time that TfL named the Overground lines.

Suggestions?
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"Good news for regular users of Euston Station in London! One day they will die. Then they won't have to go to Euston Station ever again." - David Mitchell
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« Reply #17 on: July 01, 2023, 17:26:08 »

This topic has come up recently at
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=27318.0

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JayMac
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« Reply #18 on: July 01, 2023, 18:05:56 »


Aha. Missed that. Despite my contribution to the earlier thread. Now merged.
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"Good news for regular users of Euston Station in London! One day they will die. Then they won't have to go to Euston Station ever again." - David Mitchell
stuving
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« Reply #19 on: February 15, 2024, 09:15:57 »

New names now announced. From TfL» (Transport for London - about):
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London Overground’s new look
We'll introduce new names and line colours across the London Overground network by the end of 2024.

Each of the 6 routes that make up the London Overground will be given its own colour.

    Lioness (currently known as Watford Junction to Euston) - yellow
    Mildmay (currently known as Richmond and Clapham Junction to Stratford) -  blue
    Windrush (currently known as Highbury & Islington to New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon) - red
    Weaver (currently known as Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Chingford) - maroon
    Suffragette (currently known as Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside) - green
    Liberty (currently known as Romford to Upminster) - grey

And there's a map of just the Overground lines:


The full tube map's a bit too big to show in a post.
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grahame
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« Reply #20 on: February 15, 2024, 10:07:32 »

Colours make sense; names explained at https://madeby.tfl.gov.uk/2024/02/15/overground_line_names/?intcmp=75213 - not sure they are what I would have chosen but you're not going to please everyone (and I know I can be difficult to please  Grin )

Edit - full map mirrored for members at http://www.passenger.chat/mirror/tube-map-with-the-new-lo-names.pdf
« Last Edit: February 15, 2024, 10:24:22 by grahame » Logged

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stuving
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« Reply #21 on: February 15, 2024, 11:38:21 »

All new names sound and feel odd, because they lack the association with the thing they now name, which will build up later. I'm sure Bakerloo felt a bit silly too at first. It appears in a headline on the opening day; I'm sure sub-editors liked it as they had always struggled to get the full names of railways to fit in. It then appears as "Baker-loo" and then "Bakerloo" (with the quotes) within days. And people soon got used to it, partly because it just works as a name.

These new Overground names do seem to have an air of woke virtue-signalling about them. Of course elsewhere in Europe this kind of rather political naming of things has been more common. And remember that the last line named by TfL» (Transport for London - about) was the Elizabeth Line - an example of a much older custom: deferential virtue-signalling. 
« Last Edit: February 15, 2024, 21:42:10 by stuving » Logged
Noggin
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« Reply #22 on: February 15, 2024, 13:09:02 »

It's a nice gesture, however operationally it's got got the potential for a lot of confusion, particularly for tourists and the elderly. Anchoring them in geography would arguably have been much better from a usability perspective.

It's also got the potential to attract a huge amount of ridicule both domestically and internationally.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #23 on: February 15, 2024, 14:09:29 »

There are now TWO green lines passing through Barking....confusion? I reckon. Badly planned.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #24 on: February 15, 2024, 15:17:57 »

It's a nice gesture, however operationally it's got got the potential for a lot of confusion, particularly for tourists and the elderly. Anchoring them in geography would arguably have been much better from a usability perspective.

It's also got the potential to attract a huge amount of ridicule both domestically and internationally.

Agreed, geography would be better, although if "Windrush" passed through Tower Hamlets it could usefully be used as a pointer to the curryhouses of Brick Lane?
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« Reply #25 on: February 15, 2024, 17:03:15 »

Maybe we should adopt the German method of a letter and numbers eg S1 U1

The London Overground would be O1, O2, O3 etc,

 Grin
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« Reply #26 on: February 15, 2024, 17:06:11 »

Just as well it wouldn't be "Take the O2 to get to the O2" then....
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TonyK
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« Reply #27 on: February 15, 2024, 20:33:01 »

There are now TWO green lines passing through Barking....confusion? I reckon. Badly planned.

Barking mad.

Quote
London Overground’s new look
We'll introduce new names and line colours across the London Overground network by the end of 2024.

Each of the 6 routes that make up the London Overground will be given its own colour.

    Lioness (currently known as Watford Junction to Euston) - yellow
    Mildmay (currently known as Richmond and Clapham Junction to Stratford) -  blue
    Windrush (currently known as Highbury & Islington to New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon) - red
    Weaver (currently known as Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Chingford) - maroon
    Suffragette (currently known as Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside) - green
    Liberty (currently known as Romford to Upminster) - grey

I can see unofficial nicknames creeping in if things don't go quite to plan. Liomess, Weaver train hopefully, and the Diabolical Liberty Line spring to mind, but hopefully all will go well forever and there'll be no need for that.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2024, 20:45:02 by TonyK » Logged

Now, please!
ChrisB
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« Reply #28 on: November 19, 2024, 21:01:34 »

From PA (Public Address) Media, via MSN

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Individual names and colours for London Overground railway lines will be introduced from Wednesday.

Transport for London (TfL» (Transport for London - about)) said it will update 6,000 station direction signs as well as maps, digital screens and online journey planners.

The six names will be Lioness, Mildmay, Windrush, Weaver, Suffragette and Liberty.



TfL said “stakeholders, customers, staff, historians, industry experts and communities” played a “key role” in deciding the names, which were chosen to honour and celebrate different aspects of London’s history and culture.

The change is estimated to cost £6.3 million, which will be paid for out of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s Greater London Authority budget.

TfL said financial constraints mean it will not initially update maps and audio announcements on its other services, such as the London Underground.

The overhaul involves one of the biggest changes in the history of the capital’s Tube map.

London Overground lines have all been coloured orange on TfL maps since the network was created in 2007, when the transport authority took control of services on four suburban rail lines.

The system has expanded to 113 stations, creating what has been described as a “mass of orange spaghetti” on maps, making it difficult for some passengers to work out what train they need.

Each route will be represented on maps as parallel lines in different colours.

Andy Lord, London’s transport commissioner, said: “This is an exciting step as millions of customer journeys on the London Overground will be transformed by making it simpler to navigate.

“Individual line colours and names have helped customers navigate the Tube for more than 100 years, so we wanted to take a similar approach on the London Overground.

“These changes will help improve customer confidence when travelling and encourage more to use our services.”

When the decision was announced in February, John Bull, editor of transport website London Reconnections, said giving the lines names and colours was “an overdue change”.

He told the PA news agency: “One of the real benefits that the Overground has brought is the ability to drive traffic – that isn’t local – to interesting places in Zone 2, Zone 3 and beyond.

“But if it’s not a familiar journey you can’t just say ‘I’m going to get on the orange line’. You have to know how they interconnect.”

The names and colours for London Overground lines will be:

– The Lioness line between Euston and Watford Junction (yellow).

This honours the England women’s football team winning Euro 2022 at Wembley, which is on the line.

– The Mildmay line between Stratford and Richmond/Clapham Junction (blue).

The Mildmay Mission Hospital in Shoreditch specialises in treating patients with HIV-related illnesses.

– The Windrush line between Highbury and Islington and each of Clapham Junction/New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon (red).

The name honours the Windrush generation, who came to the UK (United Kingdom) from the Caribbean to fill labour shortages after the Second World War.

The line runs through areas with communities linked to the Caribbean.

– The Weaver line between Liverpool Street and Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford (maroon).

The line runs through areas known for the textile trade.

– The Suffragette line between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside (green).

This is in tribute to the movement that fought for votes for women. Barking was home to suffragette Annie Huggett, who lived to 103.

– The Liberty line between Romford and Upminster (grey).

This celebrates how Havering, which the line runs through, historically had more self-governance through being a royal liberty.
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #29 on: November 19, 2024, 21:08:39 »

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The change is estimated to cost £6.3 million, which will be paid for out of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s Greater London Authority budget.

TfL» (Transport for London - about) said financial constraints mean it will not initially update maps and audio announcements on its other services, such as the London Underground.

Hmmmm.  Roll Eyes

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