It’s one of the most instantly recognisable maps in the world.
But the London Underground map has been given a makeover – and its creator claims the new version is more geographically accurate than Transport for London’s (TfL’s) original.
Dr Max Roberts, a cartographer based in Essex, has created a ‘concentric-circles-and-spokes’ map, charting the stations across all 11 lines of the London Underground, as well as the Elizabeth Line, Croydon Tramlink, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Overground, Great Northern City Line, and Thameslink Services.
Speaking to MailOnline, Dr Roberts explained: ‘I think that my map shows just how bad things are getting with the official design.
‘My version uses unusual Avant-garde design rules, and yet is more orderly and spatially correct than a map that uses tried-and-tested standard design rules.’
The London Underground map has been given a makeover – and its creator claims the new version is more geographically accurate than Transport for London’s (TfL’s) original
The original London Underground map is one of the most instantly recognisable maps in the world
The original London Underground map was drawn up almost 90 years ago by Harry Beck, an electrical draughtsman who based his map on the circuit drawings used in his day job, rather than focusing on geography.
TfL explained: ‘Beck’s map was initially rejected by the publicity department because it was considered too radical but a successful trial print-run showed that it was just what the public wanted.
‘The result was an instantly clear and comprehensible chart that would become an essential guide to London – and a template for transport maps the world over.’
To this day, millions of passengers use Beck’s map to navigate the city.
TfL has added several modifications and additions here and there, but Dr Roberts claims that the map is still not up to scratch.
Dr Max Roberts, a cartographer based in Essex, has created a ‘concentric-circles-and-spokes’ map, charting the stations across all 11 lines of the London Underground, as well as the Elizabeth Line, Croydon Tramlink, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Overground, Great Northern City Line, and Thameslink Services
Today’s tube map: Used by millions everyday to navigate the 402km-long network of London tube stops
‘The current Underground map is in a very poor state indeed, especially the pocket version,’ he told MailOnline.
‘The lines twist and turn all over the place, ruining the simplicity of the design, and many parts of London are warped, with stations in completely the wrong places.
‘Part of the problem is that too much is squeezed into the map: the pocket version is almost exactly the same size as the Henry Beck 1933 original but has over 100 extra stations.’
Dr Roberts first set out to tackle this issue back in 2013, when he created ‘Version 1’ of his concentric-circles-and-spokes map.
‘The Overground loop from Highbury to Clapham Junction and back to Highbury had just been completed,’ he explained.
‘Several people suggested that a good way to publicise this would be a new Tube map with circles on it, but I thought that the designs that tried this were a bit untidy: the straight lines and the curves weren’t mixing together well.
‘So, I tried a map based on concentric circles and spokes radiating from a central point, which is much more organised.
The cartographer was inspired to recreate his original map after spotting a similar map, which was jointly released by TfL and Samsung to advertise the Galaxy S24 Ultra
‘This new map made a big impact and went viral.’
Now, Dr Roberts has released Version 2 of the map, which has been ‘completely updated and revised’.
The cartographer was inspired to recreate his original map after spotting a similar map, which was jointly released by TfL and Samsung in January to advertise the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
‘[Samsung and TfL’s map] uses exactly the same design principles as my map, but it wasn’t intended for real use,’ he explained.
‘It left out the Overground and the Elizabeth Line and twisted up the Underground lines in all sorts of crazy ways.’
‘So I wanted to show that the design principles that I tried back in 2013 were not just for fun and could still be applied today on a serious map that could be used for journey planning.
The original London Underground map (pictured) was drawn up almost 90 years ago by Harry Beck, an electrical draughtsman who based his map on the circuit drawings used in his day job, rather than focusing on geography
‘I worked hard to show clearly the routes taken by the lines, and to minimise geographical distortion where it matters most: how nearby stations relate to each other.’
Dr Roberts posted the new map on X (Twitter) earlier this week, and it has already been viewed over one million times.
‘This looks great – understand why the real TfL map evolved but this does seem more relevant,’ one delighted viewer replied.
Another added: ‘I’m coming around to the idea that this might now be better than the actual tube map. Something that I thought I wouldn’t say in my lifetime.’
And one joked: ‘THIS is what I need when trying to figure out where stuff is!’
While Dr Roberts claims his new map is more accurate than TfL’s, he doesn’t expect it to be implemented by the local government body any time soon.
‘I’m not sure what they would make of this design, trying out something this new would be a major step for them,’ he added.
