Schematic transport map of the London Underground network
The Tube map as of May 2022
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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]
^Kent, Alexander J. (1 February 2021). "When Topology Trumped Topography: Celebrating 90 Years of Beck's Underground Map". The Cartographic Journal. 58 (1): 1–12. Bibcode:2021CartJ..58....1K. doi:10.1080/00087041.2021.1953765. S2CID 236970579.
^1933 map Archived 19 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine from "A History of the London Tube Maps". Archived from the original on 15 August 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
^"Harry Beck and the London Underground Map – The background to the designing of a 'Design Icon' – London Underground Map changing through time but remaining true to Beck's original principle – Designers & Designing – Design & Technology on the Web support resource for students and teachers of Design & Technology at KS3, KS4, A-Level and beyond". Design-technology.info. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
^"15 subway-style maps that explain everything but subways". vox.com. 24 March 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
^"Tube map – TfL Website" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
^"Long list unveiled for national vote on public's favourite example of Great British Design". BBC. 18 November 2016. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
^"Concorde voted the UK's top icon". BBC. 18 November 2016. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
^"Underground art: London tube map designs". The Guardian. 20 March 2009. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
The Tubemap (sometimes called the London Underground map) is a schematic transport map of the lines, stations and services of the London Underground...
buildings, posters and public artworks in a modernist style. The schematic Tubemap, designed by Harry Beck in 1931, was voted a national design icon in 2006...
technical draughtsman who created the first diagrammatic London Underground Tubemap in 1931. Beck drew the diagram after being fired at the London Metro Signal...
commissioned artists to create covers for London Underground's pocket Tubemap. These free maps are one of the largest public art commissions in the UK. Over...
District lines station, it is shown as a single station on the current Tubemap, but still counted as two in the official station count. It has been shown...
recognition of Harry Beck's iconic Tubemap design.[citation needed] The map was created by 'Barry Heck' using a photoshopped Tubemap and an online anagram generator...
runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tubemap. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different...
Night Tube and London Overground Night Service, often referred to simply as Night Tube, is a service pattern on the London Underground ("Tube") and London...
Underground, as well as commissioning artists to create covers for the Tubemap, one of the largest public art commissions in the UK. From the late 1900s...
the Docklands Light Railway. The Jubilee line is printed silver on the Tubemap, to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, after which the line...
topological relationship between points is maintained. A good example are the tubemaps for the London Underground and the New York City Subway. Outline of cartography...
Put YouTube on the Map in 2005". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2019. "YouTube serves up...
Printed in dark blue (officially "Corporate Blue", Pantone 072) on the Tubemap, it is the sixth-busiest line on the Underground network, with nearly 218...
Elephant & Castle in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tubemap, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over 23.2 kilometres...
early 1960 edition of the Tubemap shows the "Highbury Hill" suffix but one from later in 1960 shows it without. No subsequent maps include the suffix. This...
subway map diagram Late night subway service mapMap of a 1929 expansion plan Map of a 1939 expansion plan The map as a theme of art Tubemap – Map for the...
with several other Google services including YouTube, Chrome, Gmail, Search, and Google Play. Google Maps first started as a C++ program designed by two...
in Hertfordshire and Uxbridge in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tubemap, the line is 41.4 miles (66.7 km) in length and serves 34 stations (13...
Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 May 2014. Rose 2007. Standard TubeMap (PDF) (Map). Not to scale. Transport for London. November 2022. Archived (PDF)...
in the north-east, via the West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tubemap and is one of the only two lines on the network to run completely underground...
looking south (platforms 1 & 2 on the far right) Citations Standard TubeMap (PDF) (Map). Not to scale. Transport for London. November 2022. Archived (PDF)...
Highgate and Archway". Ham & High. Retrieved 11 July 2023. Standard TubeMap (PDF) (Map). Not to scale. Transport for London. November 2022. Archived (PDF)...
western branches, to Richmond and Ealing Broadway. Printed in green on the Tubemap, the line serves 60 stations (more than any other Underground line) over...
the Overground in branding and publicity including the roundel, on the Tubemap, trains and stations. In 2024, it was announced that, while orange would...
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