London Overground line names announced

[THC]

The new names for the six London Overground lines have been announced by the Mayor of London.

They will all appear on the Underground map as parallel lines but on different colours, replacing the swathe of orange that currently appears.

The new names are:

Lioness - Euston to Watford Junction (yellow)
Mildmay - Stratford to Richmond/Clapham Jun (blue)
Windrush - Highbury & I to Clapham Jun/New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon (red)
Weaver - Liverpool Street to Enfield Town/Cheshunt/Chingford (maroon)
Suffragette - Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside (green)
Liberty - Romford to Upminster (grey)

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/...ansport-for-london-elizabeth-ii-b1139254.html

The London Overground is being renamed and rebranded in a bid to make it easier for passengers to work out where their train goes.

The six different branches of the 113-station network are each being given a different name and colour – ending the format of all Overground routes being shown as orange-bordered lines on the Tube map.

THC

 

[Business Bob]

​

We'll introduce new names and line colours across the London Overground network by the end of 2024. Here's how they'll look and feel.

London Overground’s new look

By the end of 2024, we'll introduce the new names and designs for the London Overground network. Here's how they’ll look and feel

tfl.gov.uk

 

[telstarbox]

Lioness line is a bit of a tongue twister? But these make sense overall. Nice nod to the Hugeuenots too.

 

[Snow1964]

Sounds line the line colour will be parallel slim lines on tube map, but already do that for some other lines eg DLR, but will require all maps to be updated.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/steps-tube-map-zones-1-3.pdf

Link is one of the current TfL maps, which has not yet been updated for Elizabeth line, which shows how TfL find it difficult to publish updates

 

[The exile]

Why do we have such an aversion to line/route numbers? So much easier on maps, PIS and indeed the vehicles themselves. Even our tram systems seem to avoid the like the plague.

 

[InkyScrolls]

Well those are all... 'interesting' choices.

 

[telstarbox]

Why do we have such an aversion to line/route numbers? So much easier on maps, PIS and indeed the vehicles themselves. Even our tram systems seem to avoid the like the plague.

Well in this case you might have the "09.05 O-3 service to Watford Junction" being announced which could be confusing!

 

[TFN]

The best name on the shortest route eh?

Also I notice that the Suffragette line is green. Something was done right

 

[Nym]

That’s simple. Use the word Zero.

 

[tom1996]

Pretty strange that they didn’t use orange for the Windrush line, given that was the colour of the East London line before?

 

[stadler]

Well that is a big disappointment. I certainly did not expect those names. Those names that are pretty meaningles to the most passengers. They should have chose something that was already in use or already had some meaning to the line.

I would have chosen the following:

• Harlequin Line - Euston to Watford

• Goblin Line - Gospel Oak to Barking

• East London Line - Highbury to New Cross and West Croydon and Crystal Palace and Clapham

• North London Line - Clapham and Richmond to Stratford

• Lea Valley Line - Liverpool Street to Chingford and Cheshunt and Enfield

• ???? - Romford to Upminster Line (i am not too sure what i would name this one as it has never had a name associated with it - maybe "Upford Line" or "Rominster Line" or something similar like this might work - even "Ingrebourne Line" or "Ingrebourne Valley Line" after the river it crosses could be a better option - but i am not so certain with what i would call this one)

Most of these names are much more familiar with passengers. Many of these line name are already commonly in use today. I remember the "Harlequin Line" was used by both Silverlink and BR (NSE) so many would remember this too. Also it is a merge of two places it serves like the "Bakerloo Line" is. NLL and ELL and Goblin are still commonly used by passengers.

 

[davews]

Rather strange choice of names, sounds far too 'wokish' for me. But I never saw the need for naming them anyway, we have managed years without.

 

[VauxhallandI]

I thought it was an early April fools article when I saw it. What terrible names, I do wish firms would concentrate on their core reasons for being.

 

[Nym]

Businesses core reason for being is making money. If they have done this with these names, objective complete, invoice, done.

I thought it was an early April fools article when I saw it. What terrible names, I do wish firms would concentrate on their core reasons for being.

 

[telstarbox]

Using the pre 2000s names ignores how the Overground services have been joined up from the separate routes in BR days.

North London is confusable with Northern.

Clapham and Peckham aren't in East London.

Nobody calls it the Harlequin line.

Rather strange choice of names, sounds far too 'wokish' for me. But I never saw the need for naming them anyway, we have managed years without.

What does woke mean please?

Rather strange choice of names, sounds far too 'wokish' for me. But I never saw the need for naming them anyway, we have managed years without.

What does woke mean please?

 

[Class 466]

£6.3m on a rebrand that nobody really asked for when TfL are meant to be strapped for cash…

 

[AlterEgo]

Strange names which will never have the cultural power of the Underground lines. Most of those names are completely meaningless, although I do think Windrush is a good name.

Interesting to see a line named after a group which had a terror campaign directed in part at Britain’s railways!

 

[Davester50]

Using the pre 2000s names ignores how the Overground services have been joined up from the separate routes in BR days.

North London is confusable with Northern.

Clapham and Peckham aren't in East London.

Nobody calls it the Harlequin line.


What does woke mean please?


What does woke mean please?

You know very well, that's why you changed it from wokish to woke.

Strange names which will never have the cultural power of the Underground lines. Most of those names are completely meaningless

Yup.

 

[SynthD]

Harlequin is meaningless to many. You’d have to explain the link, as you will with lioness. Most of the cost would still be there if Harlequin was chosen.

The former site of the Mildmay hospital is in the middle of two stops on the Windrush line. What liberty does Havering have? Do all generations, enough tourists know how to pronounce suffragette? We can criticise these choices well enough without resorting to undefined culture war words.

 

[YorkRailFan]

I don't have any form of association with those names unlike the Tube Line Names, I suppose one has to build association from somewhere.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I've always associated Harlequin(s) with Twickenham

 

[SteveOfTheStow]

Some of them are succinct, clear in purpose - Lioness, Liberty, Windrush.

I’m struggling a bit more with Weaver, Sufragette, Mildmay. They do seem more circumstantial.

‘Lea Valley lines’ was already a sufficient name for those out of Liverpool Street. Geographic, rolls off the tongue.

I don’t know what I’d do about North London and Goblin, though. Goblin is simply not appropriate as an official name - it’ll never happen. And the NLL travels three sides of the rectangle, not just North London. But I think I prefer it to Mildmay, at least.

 

[The exile]

Well in this case you might have the "09.05 O-3 service to Watford Junction" being announced which could be confusing!

Not if announced as The O3 to Watford Jn, scheduled departure 09.05. However, for that very reason, using O as a prefix would not be advisable. (Yes , I know it stands for Overground)

 

[stuu]

Why do we have such an aversion to line/route numbers? So much easier on maps, PIS and indeed the vehicles themselves. Even our tram systems seem to avoid the like the plague.

There's a belief that people don't remember them. Unless they are on a bus... which I don't understand.

Not sure about all the names, Mildmay in particular seems a bit weak, but they could have been worse. No doubt there will now be a regular battle to get some of them renamed every time there is a mayoral election

 

[75A]

What a waste of money.

 

[telstarbox]

You know very well, that's why you changed it from wokish to woke.


Yup.

Could you fill me in then?

 

[martin2345uk]

What is Weaver supposed to refer to please?

 

[TRAX]

The new London Overground line names and colours have been revealed, along with a new corresponding network map.




The Romford-Upminster shuttle is the Liberty line.

The Watford DC service is the Lioness line.

The NLL becomes the Mildmay line.

The GOBLIN is now the Suffragette line.

The Liverpool St services are the Weaver line.

The East London Line is now the Windrush line.

I’m really not sure I like those names at all…

 

[306024]

Didn’t take long for the negativity to surface! The best reason for doing this is that during disruption you’ll know which bit is disrupted, but of course that won’t make any press release. In all my years working at Liverpool St the route via Brimsdown was called the Lea Valley, so suggesting that as a name for the overground bit would just confuse. The route via Seven Sisters was simply the Southbury loop.

 

[VauxhallandI]

What is Weaver supposed to refer to please?

The rag trade