please empty your brain below
The logic of the Central line being shown as the main east-west line no longer applies. Would there be any scope for simplification if Crossrail became a straight line through the central part of the map and other lines arranged around them?

I suspect that there is no real solution as there are so many lines and connections to be shown that any arrangement will be a muddle. Simplifying the blobs by not showing stations and connections that are step free would help, but that's a retrograde move when so much effort is being put into making the system accessible for all.

Martin | 08.11.22 - 9:24 a.m. | #

I understand why there is a necessity to show accessibility at each station, and for each line within a station, but does there come a point where there should be a "standard" Tube map, and then a different one with accessibility indicators?

I'd like to see how the map would look if each station could once again be de-clumped into just one (or two, tops) blob with all the lines running through it. I would assume that this would also de-squish and de-kink the map massively too.

gooneruk | Homepage | 08.11.22 - 9:26 a.m. | #

Fascinating analysis. I wonder how visitors feel when using the map, seeing that they don't "know" where the stations are in relation to each other, so need a map to help them.

Mikey C | 08.11.22 - 9:33 a.m. | #

Fancy 6 blobs? Check out the latest London Connections map on the TfL site.

Interestingly that doesn't show accessibility. I had been hoping it might centre on Crossrail but it doesn't. In fact Crossrail is downgraded at Liverpool Street with no Moorgate connection shown.

ap | 08.11.22 - 10:14 a.m. | #

By way of comparison a quick glance at the Paris Metro map shows a model of clarity despite more lines and considerably greater network complexity. No unnecessary clumping or ambiguity. It appears to illustrate what can be done if you approach the matter from the point of view of the user rather than technical pedantry, which results in the baffling shambles we now have.

Strabismus | 08.11.22 - 10:31 a.m. | #

Is Paddington the first station to be double-daggered?

cjw714 | 08.11.22 - 10:51 a.m. | #

Also: non-blobbiness is a problem. Farringdon should have a blob for Barbican Crossrail, as it has an exit to Barbican platforms and to Long Lane. This is advertised when you get off the train, but not on the map, which confuses travellers when they are planning their journey.

Grub | 08.11.22 - 10:53 a.m. | #

To be fair, having both the Piccadilly *and* District as straight lines out to Hounslow was at least as confusing as anything on the modern map! The gap between the lines at Hounslow, where they run on the same line, is the same as that at Green Park and Victoria!

Ellie | 08.11.22 - 4:23 p.m. | #

Thankyou for your comments on clump, squish and kink.

The other 40-odd comments are in the box at the top of this post.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 10.11.22 - 12:02 a.m. | #











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