A £6.3million rebranding of London Overground with renamed lines and colours – previously dismissed by critics as ‘predictable woke liberal nonsense’ – is set to be introduced from tomorrow.
On Wednesday rail lines will be given individual colours and names including Lioness, Mildmay, Windrush, Weaver, Suffragette and Liberty.
The announcement of the changes months ago were greeted with bemusement and disbelief at the sheer cost of the project, considering London’s current crumbling network.
But Transport for London (TfL) insisted ‘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 multi-million pound change will be paid for out of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan‘s Greater London Authority budget.
When it was announced critics derided it as a ‘word cloud of virtue’ and joked ‘The only surprise was he hadn’t named one of them the Sadiq line’.
The overhaul involves one of the biggest changes in the history of the capital’s Tube map.
All of London Overground’s lines have 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.
A £6.3million rebranding of London Overground with renamed lines and colours – previously dismissed by critics as ‘predictable woke liberal nonsense’ – is set to be introduced from tomorrow. Pictured: London Mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled the idea earlier this year
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (third left) joined other representatives during a visit to Highbury and Islington station in North London to announce the new Overground line names
On Wednesday r ail lines will be given individual colours and names including Lioness, Mildmay, Windrush, Weaver, Suffragette and Liberty
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 said: ‘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.’
Not everyone is pleased with the planned changes however.
The multi-million pound change will be paid for out of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan ‘s Greater London Authority budget
The Weaver line between Liverpool Street and Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford (maroon): The line runs through areas known for the textile trade
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 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 Windrush line between Highbury & Islington and 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 Mildmay line between Stratford and Richmond/Clapham Junction (blue): The Mildmay Mission Hospital in Shoreditch specialises in treating patients with HIV-related illnesses
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
In February, Susan Hall, Mr Khan’s Conservative opponent in May’s mayoral election, told MailOnline: ‘A thousand people have been killed under his Mayoralty, and yet Sadiq Khan is only interested in this virtue signalling nonsense.
‘The only surprise from today’s announcement is that he hasn’t named one of them the Sadiq line.’
Ex-minister Paul Scully, Tory MP for Sutton and Cheam, told MailOnline: ‘Londoners just want a Mayor who can get them from A to B on time, at reasonable cost and in a degree of comfort, not just spraying a word cloud of virtue signalling at a cost of £6m of taxpayers’ money.
‘If he insists on renaming lines, he could have looked at sponsorship which would inject much-needed investment.
‘But either way, at a time that we’re hearing about TfL’s delays to replacing old train stock, he’s just putting a new lick of paint over a creaking transport system rather than doing the job Londoners expect.’
Tory MP Bob Blackman told MailOnline: ‘Another woke idea from a mayor who becomes more ridiculous every day.’
Further critics highlighted the cost given Transport for London (TfL) had been on the verge of bankruptcy before securing last-minute Government funding, ongoing strikes and disputes and and how Tube crime has soared by 56 per cent fuelled by a surge in thefts and robberies.
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 & Islington and 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.
From the Lioness to the Windrush line: What the London Overground’s six new names mean
Here is the full description from TfL about the new Overground line names:
The Lioness line: Euston to Watford Junction
‘The Lioness line, which runs through Wembley, honours the historic achievements and lasting legacy created by the England women’s football team that continues to inspire and empower the next generation of women and girls in sport. It will be yellow parallel lines on the map.’
The Mildmay line: Stratford to Richmond/Clapham Junction
‘The Mildmay line, which runs through Dalston, honours the small charitable hospital in Shoreditch that has cared for Londoners over many years, notably its pivotal role in the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s, which made it the valued and respected place it is for the LGBTQ+ community today. It will be blue parallel lines on the map.’
The Windrush line: Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction/New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon
‘The Windrush line runs through areas with strong ties to Caribbean communities today, such as Dalston Junction, Peckham Rye and West Croydon and honours the Windrush generation who continue to shape and enrich London’s cultural and social identity today. It will be red parallel lines on the map.’
The Weaver line: Liverpool Street to Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford
‘The Weaver line runs through Liverpool Street, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green and Hackney – areas of London known for their textile trade, shaped over the centuries by diverse migrant communities and individuals. It will be maroon parallel lines on the map.’
The Suffragette line: Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside
‘The Suffragette line celebrates how the working-class movement in the East End, fought for votes for woman and paved the way for women’s rights. The line runs to Barking, home of the longest surviving Suffragette Annie Huggett, who died at 103. It will be green parallel lines on the map.’
The Liberty line: Romford to Upminster
‘The Liberty line celebrates the freedom that is a defining feature of London and references the historical independence of the people of Havering, through which it runs. It will be grey parallel lines on the map.’
