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.
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.
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