@TubeMapCentral profile picture
Tube Map Central @TubeMapCentral

Dedicated to the science and art of transit map design.

Joined November 2020
  • Tweets 399
  • Following 18
  • Followers 3,544
198 Photos and videos
No time for maps lately, but designing in Lego is also schematisation: Taking reality and trying to express its essentials with simple rules. My Edwardian Underground platforms are finally going to have a station building above them, inspired by Leslie Green, but more Art Nouveau
1
14
1,042
Oh dear, Northern Powerhouse Rail got off to a bad start. It seems that an AI-generated map was circulated. Actually, this is so bad I wonder whether the original post by the politician was genuine.
Richard Clinnick@Clinnick1
Jan 14
This map hurts my eyes. Piccadilly has moved. Huddersfield, York and Hull have been cloned. THREE Warrington stations. And there are questions regarding the cynicism towards today's announcement...
1
3
1,411
Always a pleasure when a Retours article is published, the website archives a treasure-trove of beautiful posters and maps
retours@retoursEU
21 Nov 2025
New RETOURS episode about GDR railway posters! Even though there was no competition, East Germany was not devoid of advertising. Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) promoted new timetables, discounts, vacancies or tourism. Design was on par with the West. retours.eu/en/63-GDR-posters…
2
1,105
Speaking of anniversaries, I’m astonished I missed this: Last year @markovenden “Metro Maps of the World” (now “Transit Maps of the World”) celebrated its 21st birthday, a landmark book selling tens of thousands of copies and essential reading for lovers of transit maps.
7
751
Looking at a book on Amazon. Every single one of their recommendations is sponsored, gone are the days when they used data to make genuine recommendations. Why do people use this horrible website?
1
2
611
Ten years ago today I completed one of my favourite maps, the Chicago El network inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. It became one of my five viral designs, and not a circle in sight! linkedin.com/posts/maxwell-r…
1
2
17
928
Rounding off a summer of circles maps, Tube Map Central newsletter 102 emailed to subscribers. Download from tubemapcentral.com/writing/n…. Tube Map Central will be on hiatus while I complete an MBA but you can email me at mjr@tubemapcentral.com to receive occasional news mailings.
1
524
New for 2025, my Brussels Circles tram and metro map updated to v3. Brussels is my favourite city and I know the network well. The cat-head silhouette at the centre is not inappropriate!
21
1,247
#Transitmap book author @MarkOvenden has contributed an essay to a new compendium: The Untold Railway Stories, out this week. Mark’s tells of meeting #MassimoVignelli & other transit cartographers (including me)! Other authors include @Jack_M_Curtis, Vicki Pipe, Andrew Martin
3
572
One more map before University term starts, here is another sneak preview.
7
619
Brand new: Netherlands Railways as circles, my first map of an entire country. Biggest challenges: no station names interrupting lines, keeping the design compact, keeping distortion under control, bundling services meaningfully. Utrecht takes its rightful place at the centre.
4
4
65
4,523
Thanks to everyone who has offered corrections. This map is version 1.1, all notified corrections made to date.
1
3
525
If you’ve had trouble visiting tubemapcentral.com in the past, check out the new secure hosting: 20 years of design, writing, research and teaching, and no adverts! hostingmatters.co.uk did everything possible to make the migration painless, I recommended them!
2
605
I've been quiet lately, but I've not been slacking. Here is a sneak preview of what is coming next, look out for the completed version soon!
1
19
1,156
Less than 48 hours to go on my Kickstarter project! If you thought that London Circles Tube Map 2024 was incomplete without the rest of London's railways, this is your last chance to get a comprehensive circles design! kickstarter.com/projects/tub…
5
590
Perhaps AI can teach creatives grammar?
1
1
527
Just out: article in RICS newsletter ... ww3.rics.org/uk/en/modus/bui…
478
From August 2025 I will be de-following all followers who follow more than 1000 accounts. It will be a slow process because X doesn't want people to be able to curate followers, but I'm not here to create feed-fodder mush.
9
19
2,452
But let's also add, if you follow a lot of people, but somehow my tweets get into your feed amongst the endless cat videos, DM me or reply here, I would be delighted to keep you here.
4
7
637
Parallel lines touching used to mean that lines share platforms. Now, on the TfL London railways map, it’s just random. It can’t be a contrast issue. Dark blue/magenta on Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines are not the easiest colours to distinguish.
3
15
1,733
Load more