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The orange spaghetti string that is the London Overground could soon all lines have individual names as part of a £4,000,000 plan by TfL.

Transport for London has announced a plan to individually name all six of the London Overground lines to make wayfinding less of a chore.

Right now, crisscrossing orange double lines cover the Tube map, with many of the lines having interchanges between them.

So the transit body has set aside four million of its £13,000,000 in City Hall funding to explore renaming the lines, its budget published this month says.

Usually, it’s up to TfL and City Hall to come up with tube line names and may consult with local authorities and advocacy group London TravelWatch.

This means it’s unlikely the public will have much of a say in what the six routes should be renamed to – so maybe don’t expect a Barking McBarking Face line just yet.

Here are the lines involved ... as I read it ...

1. Euston to Watford Junction
"DC Lines"

2. Richmond and Clapham Junction to Stratford (routes join at Willesden Junction)
"North London Line"?

3. Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside
"Gobl Line"?

4. Highbury and Islington via Thames Tunnel to Clapham Junction / West Croydon / New Cross / Crystal Palace
"East London Line"?

5. Liverpool Street to Enfield Town / Cheshunt / Chingford
"Jazz service"?

6. Romford to Upminster
"The Waif"

Here are the lines involved ... as I read it ...

1. Euston to Watford Junction
"DC Lines"

2. Richmond and Clapham Junction to Stratford (routes join at Willesden Junction)
"North London Line"?

3. Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside
"Gobl Line"?

4. Highbury and Islington via Thames Tunnel to Clapham Junction / West Croydon / New Cross / Crystal Palace
"East London Line"?

5. Liverpool Street to Enfield Town / Cheshunt / Chingford
"Jazz service"?

6. Romford to Upminster
"The Waif"

But how would these cover the fact that many of the services extend beyond those older names, for eample the East London line extends to West Croydon and Clapham Junction?

I think TfL could be looking for non geographic similar in idea to the Elizabeth Line

From the precedent of Victoria and Elizabeth ... after famous people ...
Churchill
Charles
Darwin
Beeching
Stevenson
Trevithick

Not enough diversity there I'm afraid, all old white men!

As for colours – this will have to be very carefully thought out to keep them distinct. Probably some lines will have to be a combination of colours (eg red outline with blue infill). It's still going to get messy at different scales. And as a colourblind friend says, "Will it work in greyscale?"

Perhaps you don't?  The  "Northern Line" already includes the southern most station on the Underground.

"North London Line" and "East London Line" work well for those two in that they pass to the north and the east; slight concern at "North London Line" and "Northern Line" getting confused?


I suspect so.  Name them after formidable women - Florence (Nightingale) Line, Emmeline (Pankhurst) Line, Mary (Seacole) Line,  Bodicea Line, Margaret (Thatcher) Line and  Theresa (May) Line.

Name them after formidable women - Florence (Nightingale) Line, Emmeline (Pankhurst) Line, Mary (Seacole) Line,  Bodicea Line, Margaret (Thatcher) Line and  Theresa (May) Line.

Six London Overground lines will be named by the end of next year, Transport for London (TfL) 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."

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Transport for London (TfL) 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.

(https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1umeQ0.img?w=768&h=432&m=6)

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 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.

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.

Hmmmm.  ::)

Presumably some trains on the Windrush Line will be unexpectedly stopped and instructed to return to their point of origin.  ;D

Given more recent happenings I hardly think this name is necessarily a cause for celebration.

I would celebrate the people who arrived in the UK at the time and have become so much a part of us. I would abhor some of the treatment they have received for much of the time they have been here.   

Presumably some trains on the Windrush Line will be unexpectedly stopped and instructed to return to their point of origin.  ;D

Given more recent happenings I hardly think this name is necessarily a cause for celebration.