The introduction of the six new London Overground names is finally, tangibly, underway. But the changes are being phased in, as befits a seriously complex operation, with some happening now, some delayed until next month or next year, and some kicked far into the future because cost has outweighed practicality. Let's call them Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3.
Stage 1(20th-29th November)
i)Station signage unveiled
Directional signs at key points across the network were replaced months ago, then covered over with a vinyl representation of the existing sign ready to be ripped off en masse during the week of launch. A brilliant plan, which also worked to TfL's favour when the renaming was put back by two months following that pesky cyberattack. As yet the orange vinyls have not been officially removed, but some have been surreptitiously peeled and one or two have been partially ripped.
Below are some of the 'before and after's, not all of which are meant to be visible yet, from Hackney Wick, Hackney Downs and Hackney Central. By next weekend all the new signs will be out in the open but for now you could walk round Gospel Oak, Whitechapel or most other Overground stations without realising renaming was underway at all.
Expect to see changed signs on the approach to platforms and more widely at the handful of stations with more than one Overground line. Highbury & Islington will have a lot of changed signage, for example, with Windrush and Mildmay platforms clearly distinguished. But be aware that not all signage at Overground stations is changing. Existing signs pointing towards the 'Overground' are perfectly adequate in most places and will continue to funnel passengers in the right direction, avoiding the need to waste money pointlessly.
Unexpectedly the timetables at stations are also going to be coloured according to the line. I saw this pair at Canonbury where the red Windrush and blue Mildmay serve adjacent platforms.
ii)New tube map posters and pocket Tube maps
I haven't seen any new tube map posters yet, and I've been to stations on all six lines. But I have found the new pocket tube map, it's already out and up for grabs at stations like Bow Road, Blackfriars and St James Street.
This is the first tube map to show the six Overground lines in their six different colours, because of course it is, but TfL first showed us how that would look back in February so it's nothing new. Arguably it's a big visual improvement, replacing a mass of bright orange with tangle of muted colours.
Someone should have checked the key more carefully though. All the new Overground names appear in alphabetical order but only five of them have the word 'line' on the end, Mildmay is inexplicably bereft. It was correct on the February version but inexplicably the word 'line' has vanished in the printed version, which is a bit embarrassing given that hundreds of thousands of people are going to pick these up.
It's even more embarrassing given that TfL have been sitting on this mistake for the last couple of months. This tube map was meant to be launched in September 2024, hence the date on the front cover, but the delay to renaming means its been sitting in storage ever since. And rather than reprint the map with the correct date and a correct key they've distributed it anyway, rather than waste public funds on a reprint, and I bet some manager at the top of the rebranding pyramid is mortified this had to happen. The cover design with its moquette tiles is lovely though, so grab your collector's item soon.
iii)On-train map product switchover
Line diagrams aboard Overground trains have been a bit of a mouthful for as long as lines have been named by their multiple end points. That's one of the main reasons for this renaming and yes, the end result is a lot clearer. Here's a before and after.
Of all the updates this is probably the change that's furthest ahead at present. I rode several Overground services yesterday and around half the trains had the new line diagrams in situ while the other half still had the orange tongue-twisters. All the rolling stock will eventually display include all six line diagrams, even for the runty Liberty line, three on one side of the train and three on the other.
Passenger information systems are also starting to be updated, though only on class 378 trains (the older ones with the yellow front). Not many have been changed yet judging by my experiences yesterday. Meanwhile class 710 trains (the newer ones with the black and orange front) are not included in this month's changes because their software's different. For some people the first time the renaming hits home properly will be when they start hearing this, or something like this, at every single stop.
"This is a Windrush line train to Highbury & Islington."
"Change here for the Mildmay line to Richmond, Stratford and Clapham Junction via Willesden Junction."
iv)First release software update:
At present everything digital is still bundled under 'Overground', whether that's the electronic status boards in ticket halls, the electronic displays in trains or the TfL website. This is due to change on Tuesday morning, as confirmed on the TfL Tech Forum here.
Expect to see disruptions listed by line, the new names appearing in Journey Planner results and several extra rows on various widgets. Apps like CityMapper and Google Maps will also start to show the new lines once the API goes live, but embarrassingly not the TfL Go app because TfL's programmers aren't ready yet despite the two month delay.
Another programming misstep is that digital status boards aren't yet capable of showing if an entire Overground line is suspended. Say the Suffragette line's down - at present this would show on a status board as 'Overground - part suspended'. In future it will still show as 'Suffragette line - part suspended' because the underlying coding never foresaw this situation. That's going to look weird, and a bit misleading, until a further update finally sorts that out.
Stage 2(from December 2024)
Various important functionalities await a second release software update, whenever:
» inclusion of the new names on the TfL Go App
» updated passenger information systems on Class 710 trains
» solving the 'part suspended' issue on digital status boards
» updating older status boards, for example at some DLR stations
Stage 3(not scheduled)
There are no plans to update on-board electronic customer information systems on the Tube, Elizabeth line and DLR. You won't be hearing "There are no trains on the Lioness line owing to planned engineering work" on the Circle line, or seeing "Weaver line: Minor delays" above the doors at Crossrail stations. Sticking vinyl on signs is easy, rewriting software is harder.
You also won't be seeing updates to maps and in-car line diagrams on the Tube, Elizabeth line and DLR. These will only be changed when they need changing for some other operational reason, such as the wholesale change two years ago to show the Elizabeth line, because TfL don't have funding to spare. They're not even going to stick little stickers over the offending orange panels, which means multiple ambiguity will continue to appear on the Victoria line for the foreseeable.
Amazing, you go to all that bother to solve a problem by introducing line names and part of the solution fails because there isn't enough money. But watch out for an astonishing amount of Overground changes taking place, some already, most this week, some next month and some maybe never. They finally did it. It's really happening.
