Would you like to see another tube map typo?
If you're TfL, probably not.
It's not a spelling mistake it's a missing word, if that helps you spot it. Nobody at TfL spotted it, nor anybody at the printers, or if they did they just thought never mind let's use these duff maps anyway.
The typo is on the tube map aboard Elizabeth line trains.
I've checked other new tube maps like the posters at stations and the tube map aboard Overground trains and they're all OK, it's only purple trains with the error. Tube maps in tube trains aren't affected because they haven't been replaced because there wasn't enough money in the budget. But the tube maps in Elizabeth line trains are printed on card inserts, not sticky plastic, so they were prioritised for a colourful upgrade... and someone got them wrong.
We've already had one tube map typo associated with the introduction of the new Overground line names, you may remember, which was a missing word in the key on the pocket tube map.
You might not think missing 'line' off the end of Mildmay was the end of the world, but TfL deemed the typo serious enough to order that all pocket tube maps be removed from display. You can still pick one up at a tiny handful of stations, for example Barbican and Paddington (Crossrail), but generally speaking London's racks are entirely empty awaiting a reprint. Look out for that next week.
The new tube map error, if you haven't noticed yet, is that one station name is entirely missing.
That station name is Kennington, which for some mysterious reason is not there. Its interchange blobs were rejigged in 2021 to accommodate the Battersea extension so maybe that's something to do with the underlying glitch, but whatever the cause its name has vanished from the map. That's not ideal an at important interchange like Kennington, particularly given that Crossrail passengers might well go on to change trains there.
Another oddity is that the Liberty line is in the key although it's not on the map - the eastern edge chops off before it gets to Romford - although that's not an error, that's an editorial decision.
The line diagrams aboard Elizabeth line trains have also been updated to show Overground line connections. There are no issues here although there is a new symbol, with SP being used for the first time to denote a Short Platform. Whatever next?
But the real awkwardness is the unplanned absence of Kennington on every Crossrail tube map. By my calculations that's four omissions in every carriage, or 36 in every train, or 2520 missing Kenningtons across the entire Elizabeth line fleet. Will they all be replaced or will these duff maps continue to shuttle between Berkshire and Essex for the foreseeable future? Next time you're on a purple train do take a look at the tube map and see if Kennington's unfortunate absence is still there.
