One thing that happens when transport deadlines slip is that some things happen anyway, things that were supposed to be associated with the launch. The weekend Crossrail was supposed to open but didn't, for example, Adidas inexplicably released a set of purple trainers with a 3D Elizabeth Line logo on the right heel. This was December 2018, a long-targeted date for those in the know but never directly communicated to the public. As we now know the line didn't open for another 3½ years, but Adidas's marketing deal was already sealed so they launched anyway into a meaningless void.
This week has long been pencilled in as Overground renaming week by those behind the scenes, but again never directly communicated to the public. Press releases have generally mentioned "the autumn" or "by the end of the year", because never reveal too much if you're not certain you can deliver. Had things gone to plan the media would currently be full of the Mayor launching the whole caboodle but alas not, delivery has indeed stalled, most likely as a direct consequence of that pesky cyberattack. Pick your battles.
One thing's that's slipped is the new tube map. Last month an FoI confirmed it was expected to be released on September 23rd, i.e. this week, in conjunction with the Overground turning six shades of not-orange. But that hasn't happened, indeed an FoI published on Wednesday confirmed "We plan to launch the new London Overground lines by the end of the year. The Tube map and signs will be issued at a similar time. We do not have precise date at the moment." However this hasn't stopped the new tube map's cover from appearing on posters across the Underground.
It's by Rita Keegan, it's called The Fabric of Time and it's described as the 40th pocket Tube map cover. It consists of several squares of moquette on a black background and I suspect you're going to like it, certainly much more than certain recent squiggles, when you finally get your hands on a copy. Alas that won't be yet, indeed might still be a few months, but the poster campaign launched anyway because there are frames to fill and nobody stopped it.
My hunch is that the new tube map has already been printed, because you can't knock out millions of copies overnight, and are sitting in boxes somewhere waiting for a revised launch date. If that's the case then they'll have been printed with 'September 2024' on the cover, a date which is going to look increasingly amiss as weeks and maybe months go by, so look out for that when they finally appear.
I mentioned recently that this week's line closures poster includes disruption on five out of six of the new lines, so would have looked particularly impressive under the new nomenclature. A reader them emailed me to say that one such poster did indeed slip through the net and was pasted up at an unnamed station before being rapidly whipped down again. If anything exemplifies how incredibly close TfL got to renaming the Overground lines this week, this is it.
See how the six new Overground line names appear as sub-brands under the overall Overground umbrella, i.e. there's still an orange title at the top, then the other colours underneath. Also note that the new Overground lines always appear with a white band through the middle like a stripe of toothpaste. Officially it's called a dual line and "is composed of two lines and a white space of equal weight". Don't sound too surprised by this - TfL released their Digital Standards for the new Overground lines way back in March where everything's explained, and three weeks ago added a video on YouTube to exemplify the TfL London Overground line naming customer journey. Watch that and you'll be well ahead of the curve.
And then yesterday TfL launched something else which would have made perfect sense if the Overground lines were being renamed this week, but instead looks like pre-arranged premature emission. Six self-guided Overground walking tours were released, each devised in conjunction with walking app Go Jauntly, and promoted in their own press release. They provide six chances to get out and about on the new lines, despite the fact they don't have those names yet, and discover multiple stories behind their heritage. And they look miserable.
To clarify, they've been put together really carefully and are packed with detail and copious background information. They range in length from 5 miles to 8 miles and one of the route descriptions stretches to 42 pages. Someone has spent a lot of time making them relevant, comprehensive and as accessible as possible, paying full attention to visiting points of interest and where to cross streets. And yet this is simultaneously their downfall because they're so circuitous, atomised and tortuous that walking them would bring very little joy. I certainly shan't be bothering, and I'm about as target audience as it gets.
For example the Weaver line walk starts with a loop round Spitalfields (steps 1-75), then a loop round Hackney (steps 78-133), then a loop round Walthamstow (steps 135-139). You're expected to catch the train inbetween. The Suffragette line walk starts in Barking and makes a ridiculous special effort to visit a bench in a distant park before doubling back to the station. The Liberty line walk is a short circuit of Romford and then a lengthy there-and-back along the Ingrebourne Valley, linked by train. The Windrush line walk starts in Dalston and wants to end in Brixton but Brixton doesn't have an Overground station so you have to meander there from Clapham. The Lioness walk could just have been a wander round Wembley but someone chose to add a mundane hike from South Kenton to Headstone Lane past several football pitches which is a step too far.
Practically speaking the worst might be the Mildmay line walking tour (8.5 miles, 5 hours and 40 minutes) which is so keen to link as many points of LGBT interest as possible that it becomes entirely unwieldy. It starts near the Mildmay Hospital, obviously, but in doing so has to admit this is nowhere near the Mildmay line and requires a trip on the Windrush line instead. A loop round Dalston follows, then a lengthier figure of eight round Highbury, admittedly ticking off several historic aspects but along an otherwise circuitous slog. And finally it relocates to West Brompton for an extended plaque-spotting deviation (Freddie Mercury, Frankie Howerd, Radclyffe Hall) ending near Kensington Palace to pay tribute to Mildmay-supporter Princess Di. Full marks for shoehorning in so many diverse icons and events, seriously, but there's no need to actually walk the thing, it's far too impractically contrived.
In summary, six Overground lines should have been renamed this week but they haven't, hence a few linked projects have slipped out anyway. A bit careless really.
