The Tube map (sometimes called the London Underground map) is a schematic transport map of the lines, stations and services of the London Underground, known colloquially as "the Tube", hence the map's name. The first schematic Tube map was designed by Harry Beck in 1931.[1] [2] Since then, it has been expanded to include more of London's public transport systems, including the Docklands Light Railway, London Overground, the Elizabeth line, Tramlink, the London Cable Car and Thameslink.
As a schematic diagram, it shows not the geographic locations but the relative positions of the stations, lines, the stations' connective relations and fare zones. The basic design concepts have been widely adopted for other such maps around the world[3] and for maps of other sorts of transport networks and even conceptual schematics.[4]
A regularly updated version of the map is available from the official Transport for London website.[5] In 2006, the Tube map was voted one of Britain's top 10 design icons which included Concorde, Mini, Supermarine Spitfire, K2 telephone box, World Wide Web and the AEC Routemaster bus.[6] [7] Since 2004, Art on the Underground has been commissioning artists to create covers for the pocket Tube map.[8]
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. 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.[9]
Another early combined map was published in 1908 by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) in conjunction with four other underground railway companies that used the "Underground" brand as part of a common advertising factor.[10]
The map showed eight routes – four operated by the UERL and one from each of the other four companies:
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's first proper Tube map, the portion of the Metropolitan line beyond did not appear until 1938, and the eastern end of the District line 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.[11] 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.
The first diagrammatic map of London's rapid transit network was designed by Harry Beck in 1931.[2] 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 of the route mattered. That approach is similar to that of electrical circuit diagrams 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.[12]
To that end, Beck devised a simplified map with stations, straight-line segments connecting them, and the River Thames; 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 stations, 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 maps to illustrate the network ever since.
Despite the complexity of making the map, Beck was paid just ten guineas for the artwork and design of the card edition (five guineas for the poster).[13] 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.[14] 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, North London, and one of his maps is still preserved on the southbound platform at Finchley Central station, on the Northern line.[15]
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".
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), and the lines were generally less straight.[16] However, Hutchison also introduced interchange symbols (circles for Underground-only, squares for connections with British Rail 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.[17] 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 above-ground mainline rail services in a diagrammatic style that closely matched 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.[18]
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 and the extension to the Jubilee line. The map has also been expanded to include routes brought under Transport for London control such as TfL Rail and to note the Tube stops that connect with National Rail 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, 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.[19]
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 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 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. 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,[20] and general disapproval from most Londoners as well as from the then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.[21] 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 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.[22]
See main article: List of Art on the Underground Tube map covers. Since 2004, Art on the Underground has commissioned various British and international artists to create a cover for the pocket map.[23] These free maps are one of the largest public art commissions in the UK, with millions of copies printed.[24] Over 35 different designs have been produced, from artists such as Rachel Whiteread, Yayoi Kusama, Tracey Emin and Daniel Buren.[25]
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.[26]
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,[27] which defines the precise colours from the Pantone 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 technology have reduced that problem and the map has coped with the identification of new lines without great difficulty.
| Line | TfL colour reference | Shown as[28] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | |||||||||
| Bakerloo | Pantone 470 | brown1934–present | red1933–1934 | brownUERL | |||||
| Central | Corporate Red Pantone 485 | red1934–present | orange1933–1934 | blueUERL | |||||
| Circle | Corporate Yellow Pantone 116 | yellow1987–present | yellow (black outline)1949–1987 | green (black outline)1948 | originally part of the Metropolitan and District lines; not shown before 1948 | ||||
| District | Corporate Green Pantone 356 | green1933–present | greenUERL | ||||||
| East London | Pantone 137 | orange (double stripe)2010–present | orange1990–2010 | maroon (double stripe)1970–c.1990 | maroon1948–1969 | green1937–1948 | maroon1934–1937 | white (red outline)1933–1934 | |
| part of London Overground | part of the Metropolitan line until c.1990 | ||||||||
| Hammersmith & City | Pantone 197 | pink1990–present | maroon1948–1988 | green1937–1948 | maroon1934–1937 | ||||
| part of the Metropolitan line until 1990 | |||||||||
| Jubilee | Corporate Grey Pantone 430 | grey1979–present | opened 1979; Baker Street to Stanmore section previously part of the Bakerloo line | ||||||
| Metropolitan | Pantone 235 | maroon1948–present | green1937–1948 | maroon1934–1937 | shown combined with the District line 1937–1948 | redUERL | |||
| Northern | Corporate Black Pantone Black | black1933–present | grey (CCE&H)UERL | black (C&SL)UERL | |||||
| Northern City | none | white (black outline)c.1990–1998 | orange (double stripe)1985-c.1990 | white (black outline)1975–1984 | black (double stripe)1970–1975 | black1937–1969 | white (black outline)1934–1937 | white (maroon outline)1933–1934 | |
| not shown since 1998; transferred to British Rail (National Rail) in 1975 | orange (black outline) | UERL | |||||||
| Piccadilly | Corporate Blue Pantone 072 | blue1933–present | yellow (black outline)UERL | ||||||
| Victoria | Pantone 299 | light blue1968–present | opened 1968 | ||||||
| Waterloo & City | Pantone 338 | turquoise1994–present | white (black outline)1949–1994 | red (black outline)1943–1948 | white (black outline)1938–1941 | not shown before 1938 | thin grey (main line)UERL | ||
| part of British Rail until 1994 | |||||||||
| Docklands Light Railway | Pantone 326 | turquoise (double stripe)1993–present | blue (double stripe)1987–1993 | opened 1987 | |||||
| Tramlink | Pantone 368 | green (double stripe)2017–present | green (dotted) 2000–2017 | Opened 2000, not shown on the standard map until 2017 | |||||
| West London | Pantone 158 | orange (double stripe)2010–present | white (black outline)2007–2010 | align=center | not shown 1943–2007 | white (black outline)1938–1941 | thin grey (main line)UERL | ||
| now part of London Overground | |||||||||
| North London | Pantone 158 | orange (double stripe)2007–present | white (black outline)c.1990–2007 | align=center | not shown 1985-c.1990 | white (black outline)1977–1984 | thin grey (main line)UERL | ||
| now part of London Overground | |||||||||
| Watford DC | Pantone 158 | orange (double stripe)2007–present | align=center | not shown 1985–2007 | white (black outline)1984 | brown (triple stripe)1975–1983 | brown/black/brown (triple stripe)1973–1974 | thin grey (main line)UERL | |
| now part of London Overground; only Queen's Park–Watford shown 1973–1984 (Bakerloo peak hours service) | |||||||||
| Gospel Oak– Barking | Pantone 158 | orange (double stripe)2007–present | not shown before 2007 | thin grey (main line)UERL | |||||
| Lea Valley | Pantone 158 | orange (double stripe)2015–present | not shown before 2015 | ||||||
| Romford-Upminster | Pantone 158 | orange (double stripe)2015–present | not shown before 2015 | ||||||
| Thameslink | Pantone 218 | pink (dashed line) 2020–present | white (black outline)c.1990–1998 | orange (double stripe)1985-c.1990 | white (black outline)1977–1984 | thin grey (main line)UERL | |||
| part of National Rail; not shown between 1998 and 2020 | |||||||||
| London Cable Car | Pantone 186 | red (triple stripe)2012–present | |||||||
| Elizabeth Line | Purple (double stripe)2022–present | blue (double stripe)2015–2022 | |||||||
| known as TfL Rail before Crossrail completion | |||||||||
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 (now National Rail). The following shapes have been used:
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 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.
When Eurostar services used, the Eurostar logo was shown next to Waterloo station. In November 2007, the terminus was transferred to St Pancras International.
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 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.
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. The Underground has largely resisted adding additional services to the standard Tube map and instead produces separate maps with different information, including:
Maps are produced in different sizes, the most common being Quad Royal (40 × 50 inches[30]) 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.
Some non-Underground lines have appeared on the standard tube map:
When Transport for London expanded its London Overground 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 to London Overground was supposed to cause the southern loop to be added to future Tube maps in late 2010,[34] and, as of May 2013, it is up and running.
Like many other rapid transit maps,[35] [36] because the Tube map ignores geography, it may not accurately depict the relative orientation and distance between stations.[37]
Transport for London formerly published several bus maps that depicted the approximate paths of tube routes relative to major streets and London bus routes.[38] The maps also show locations of certain cultural attractions and geographic landmarks.
Internet mapping services such as Google Maps offer a "Transit Layer" showing actual routes superimposed on the standard street map. A map shows Underground, London Overground, Elizabeth line, DLR lines and National Rail stations within Zone 1–2.[39]
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.[40] [41] While London Underground have been protective of their copyright they have also allowed their concepts to be shared with other transport operators (Amsterdam's GVB even pays tribute on its map).[42]
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 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.[43] [44]
In 2002, Transport for London launched a series of London Buses "spider diagrams" to display at bus stops around the city, conveying bus route information in a schematic style similar to Beck's design,[45] 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.[46] The bus maps were designed for TfL by the cartographic design company T-Kartor group.[47]
An isochrone map of the network was made available in 2007.[48]
In 2009, British Waterways produced a map of London's waterways in a Tube-style diagrammatic map, depicting the River Thames, the various canals and subterranean rivers in the city.[49]
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.[50] 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.[51] 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 orbital loop surrounding Central London with radial lines.[52] 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.[53] [54]
In July 2015, a map of the network displaying walking calorie burn information for each leg was published by Metro newspaper.[55]
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.[56] It is widely cited by academics and designers as a 'design classic',[3] [57] [58] [59] and those cultural associations make London Underground not usually permit the design to be used or altered for any other purpose.[60] That has been officially sanctioned only on a few occasions:
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.
