London Overground line names announced

[greatkingrat]

Journey Planners will just refer to the TOC, not the line names.

Are you referring to NR journey planners? I would be very surprised if the TfL planner didn't use the new names, and I expect things like Citymapper and Google Maps will as well.

 

[Lewisham2221]

I'm just disappointed that there isn't a Liney McLineface line...

 

[randyrippley]

Underground and Overground lines should be renamed after famous Wombles.

 

[JJmoogle]

But then TfL stupidly applied the same branding to other lines that have nothing to do with the 'orbital' Overground and are basically national rail local metro lines into London termini - which, even with TfL running them, are really no different from most of the local National Rail routes - the TfL Rail branding was pretty good for that, and I think is really what should've been used for Euston-Watford and Liverpool Street - Chingford/Enfield/etc. (Which doesn't prevent the lines having individual names as well, in just the same way that underground lines have individual names while still being grouped together as 'The Underground').

I don't think it's that stupid, even before Overground existed a lot of people I knew referred to the NR routes as 'the overground'

In much the same way as London Transport/TfL over the years continues to take over london suburban rail services(Central, Northern, Jubilee, the planned Bakerloo extension, the Elizabeth Line, planned crossrail 2 etc have all done thid) the intention seems pretty clear, directly stated even that TfL wish to continue taking control of and integrating more services into their operations, I can easily imagine in 20 years time it'll be most of them, to just have 'Overground' then refer to the Orbital would be like Underground just referring to the Circle line

 

[norbitonflyer]

The Wembley Line would be a terrible name for the Watford DC as it's not the best way to get to the stadium by any stretch, for that you want the Met to Wembley Park.

Depends where you're coming from. From many large cities in England or Scotland, Wembley Central is far easier to get tonthan Wembley Park (change at Watford Junction, or bounce back at Euston).
The only time I went to Wembley Stadium, I went from work via Marylebone to Wembley Stadium station, and went home from Wembley Central to Richmond via Willesden Junction.

 

[Mr. SW]

What about Dickensian characters? They're associated with London. You could have some real fun with those. Pickwick Line, Copperfield Line, Pip Line, Twist Line, Little Dorrit Line, Deadlock Line, Jarndyce Line, Uriah Heep Line (!)

 

[londiscape]

• Lioness Line - oh dear - ignores the men's team that won the more significant world cup in 1966 - something that covered the lion as a species would be a better idea

How about the Fe Line?

 

[Mgameing123]

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.

What about instead of the East London Line we call it the Brunel Line in honor of Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

How about the Fe Line?

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

View attachment 152330
View attachment 152331

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…

They are terrible names. It’s only because of those feminists we have those stupid names.

 

[PTR 444]

Yes, I think it was a mistake for TfL to brand all the Overground lines in the same way. To my mind, the distinct identity that merited a separate branding was the former North and West London lines (Stratford - Richmond/etc.) and the extended former East London line (Stratford - Canada Water - etc.). Both of those lines share the characteristic of being very slow orbital lines that avoid central London. That's a distinction from other lines that is useful to your average non-rail enthusiast, so would have merited its own branding.

But then TfL stupidly applied the same branding to other lines that have nothing to do with the 'orbital' Overground and are basically national rail local metro lines into London termini - which, even with TfL running them, are really no different from most of the local National Rail routes - the TfL Rail branding was pretty good for that, and I think is really what should've been used for Euston-Watford and Liverpool Street - Chingford/Enfield/etc. (Which doesn't prevent the lines having individual names as well, in just the same way that underground lines have individual names while still being grouped together as 'The Underground').

I think it was the way the transferring of the Lea Valley Lines and Romford - Upminster shuttle to TfL in 2015 was carried out that ruined the Overground brand. IMO they should have been branded as part of the TfL Rail brand as they connect with the future Crossrail. In fact I think TfL Rail would still make a solid brand for radial and cross-London services using mainline-sized trains, while Overground is used exclusively for the ‘orbital’ services that use the North or East London Lines.

 

[Mgameing123]

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!

Windrush is a big offender actually. Brunel Line would be more appropriate.

They're no worse than "Elizabeth line" but they do feel a bit naff - would have been happy with numbered lines and this would easily separate them from tube lines

Elizabeth Line was entirely new and was named in honour of her majesty.

I think it was the way the transferring of the Lea Valley Lines and Romford - Upminster shuttle to TfL in 2015 was carried out that ruined the Overground brand. IMO they should have been branded as part of the TfL Rail brand as they connect with the future Crossrail. In fact I think TfL Rail would still make a solid brand for radial and cross-London services using mainline-sized trains, while Overground is used exclusively for the ‘orbital’ services that use the North or East London Lines.

The Romford Upminster shuttle should just be a branch on the Elizabeth Line like how the Chesham shuttle to run.

 

[PTR 444]

Windrush is a big offender actually. Brunel Line would be more appropriate.


Elizabeth Line was entirely new and was named in honour of her majesty.


The Romford Upminster shuttle should just be a branch on the Elizabeth Line like how the Chesham shuttle to run.

Agreed, although I would officially call it “Elizabeth Line Shuttle” to signify the fact that trains don’t run through to the main Elizabeth Line. The colour could be the same though.

 

[stuu]

L

What about instead of the East London Line we call it the Brunel Line in honor of Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Two reasons: firstly, his father was the engineer, and secondly, there's loads of things named after him. An entire university for one

 

[scragend]

What about instead of the East London Line we call it the Brunel Line in honor of Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Two reasons: firstly, his father was the engineer, and secondly, there's loads of things named after him. An entire university for one

He wasn't knighted either (his father was).

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Agreed, although I would officially call it “Elizabeth Line Shuttle” to signify the fact that trains don’t run through to the main Elizabeth Line. The colour could be the same though.

Sounds logical but would cause confusion in practice. Announcement: "Severe disruption on the Elizabeth Line Shuttle" and instantly half the people travelling on the actual Elizabeth Line (which is running fine) start worrying about how to replan their journeys

 

[Bantamzen]

You know being a grumpy Northern sod, I couldn't give a stuff what London calls it's lines. But now that the boy wonder Khan has spent millions of quid renaming some with these names, every Labour mayor in the country is going to want to do the same. I can't wait for Labour to come in and spend more time and effort in inclusive branding than actually improving services...

 

[stuu]

You know being a grumpy Northern sod, I couldn't give a stuff what London calls it's lines. But now that the boy wonder Khan has spent millions of quid renaming some with these names, every Labour mayor in the country is going to want to do the same. I can't wait for Labour to come in and spend more time and effort in inclusive branding than actually improving services...

No other mayor has control over rail services. And renaming these lines has been proposed pretty much since they were taken over in 2008. Is there any comparable situation elsewhere?

 

[NorthKent1989]

L

Two reasons: firstly, his father was the engineer, and secondly, there's loads of things named after him. An entire university for one

I still say Brunel line would have been better, since he started the lines construction in the first place.

 

[PTR 444]

Sounds logical but would cause confusion in practice. Announcement: "Severe disruption on the Elizabeth Line Shuttle" and instantly half the people travelling on the actual Elizabeth Line (which is running fine) start worrying about how to replan their journeys

With only three stations, I doubt any disruption on the Romford - Upminster line would be a likely occurrence. Even so, would it really be worth announcing bearing in mind it would have minimal effect on the wider network.

 

[Turtle]

No other mayor has control over rail services. And renaming these lines has been proposed pretty much since they were taken over in 2008. Is there any comparable situation elsewhere?

The renaming of the various component lines of the Overground has been under consideration for quite a few years.

Windrush is a big offender actually. Brunel Line would be more appropriate.


Elizabeth Line was entirely new and was named in honour of her majesty.


The Romford Upminster shuttle should just be a branch on the Elizabeth Line like how the Chesham shuttle to run.

I think Brunel Line might be contentious with certain individuals who would object to it being named after the son of a bankrupt asylum seeker.

 

[contrex]

I'm yet to see a genuine reason why one or any of these names shouldn't be adopted, all I've seen is gammons upset at perceived "wokeness" and the typical anti-Khan crowd who would bash anything he does regardless of merit.

I think at 71 I might qualify to be a 'gammon' (although I'm vegetarian?) and I have to say, I agree with you one hundred percent.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I'm still not a fan of these names, but I know that my slight disgruntlement from 200 miles north isn't going to make any difference or do me any good, so instead I'm just going to mock them and vow to roll my eyes whenever I encounter them out in the wild...

A few points based on previous posts though. Firstly, I have never heard any person ever refer to the England men's football team as "The Lions". Even the well known "Three Lions" of the song isn't actually used as a direct nickname for the team itself (that would make no sense as there are eleven of them)- it's just a reference to the crest worn on the team's shirts. The Lionesses nickname for the women's team is just derived from that.
In any case I'm surprised that the Lioness Line name was chosen, as I thought there was a big kerfuffle about the England women's team not being "diverse enough"? (which by the way I feel I must remind several on here again, they didn't win).

That would also have been an odd choice of name in my view. However at least it would be after the team’s actual name, rather than their nickname. White Hart Lane works better because it refers both to the historic football stadium, and the road named White Hart Lane.

Just be glad they didn't try to rename it "Y** Army HQ" (a nickname involving a slur for Jewish people, which some of Tottenham's Jewish support have attempted to "reclaim").

I'm yet to see a genuine reason why one or any of these names shouldn't be adopted, all I've seen is gammons upset at perceived "wokeness" and the typical anti-Khan crowd who would bash anything he does regardless of merit.


Hear hear!

Yet you're happy to throw around a term of abuse based on people's appearance...

None so blind as those who will not see, and none so wicked as those who are convinced they're on the side of good.

 

[Acton1991]

I don't want to labour my previous point, but the general public don't care about the different TfL rail modes, they just see each line as a line (Elizabeth line included!), not least because the fares are the same.

The number one question I was told to ask on a TfL Comms training course I attended was "why should I care?" In this instance, I'm going to ask why should I care if it is Overground instead of Underground? The answer is: I don't care. I just want to get from A to B. I am interested in the line name. It would be good if there was a bit of consistency, given the whole purpose of this exercise in the first place was to facilitate simplification.

Totally agree. 'Line' should be removed and it should read 'Elizabeth', 'Weaver', 'Lioness' etc etc.
Consumers don't care. It's adding more words to maps than needed.

 

[greatkingrat]

In any case I'm surprised that the Lioness Line name was chosen, as I thought there was a big kerfuffle about the England women's team not being "diverse enough" during the Euros (which by the way I feel I must remind several on here again, they didn't win).

Maybe you should call the police and report the theft of the trophy, as the Lionesses certainly think they won.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Lioness Line - oh dear - ignores the men's team that won the more significant world cup in 1966 - something that covered the lion as a species would be a better idea

How about the Fe Line?

Isn’t the obvious one the West Coast Mane line

 

[43066]

but if you kept insisting on calling it Crossrail to everyone you'd probably come over as somewhat nerdy!

That’s true, but I can be pretty nerdy. In fact, most normal people I know try to keep me off the subject of railways . That aside, I have no issue with the naming of the Elizabeth line, for the reasons I mentioned above.

I just don’t think “the Suffragettes” or “the Lionesses” lines are ever going to achieve the same significance. Overall, as a Londoner, I’m extremely disappointed with the names selected, and I wish they’d just kept it as London Overground, perhaps with North London line and East London line made official to the public on maps.

No way. Harry doesn’t deserve it The others, perhaps

Indeed. He really, really doesn’t. At least Pizza-Express-Andrew wasn’t on the list .

Isn’t the obvious one the West Coast Mane line

Very droll.

 

[Darandio]

In any case I'm surprised that the Lioness Line name was chosen, as I thought there was a big kerfuffle about the England women's team not being "diverse enough" during the Euros (which by the way I feel I must remind several on here again, they didn't win).

I'm fairly certain they did!

 

[stuu]

In any case I'm surprised that the Lioness Line name was chosen, as I thought there was a big kerfuffle about the England women's team not being "diverse enough" during the Euros (which by the way I feel I must remind several on here again, they didn't win).

Explain this then:

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I'm fairly certain they did!

Explain this then:

Apologies- I was having a "Mandela effect" moment and thinking of the World Cup during 2023.

 

[Basil Jet]

In fact I think TfL Rail would still make a solid brand for radial and cross-London services using mainline-sized trains, while Overground is used exclusively for the ‘orbital’ services that use the North or East London Lines.

At the entrance to Marylebone tube yesterday I noticed a large portrait monitor which listed all of the TfL lines as well behaved or naughty, but instead of a purple "Elizabeth Line" it was still showing a dark blue "TfL Rail". I find it unlikely that every such monitor on the Underground is doing that, but I also find it unlikely that the Marylebone one is configured individually to show that, so I'm none the wiser.

 

[Welly]

Jago Hazzard's YT video - he explains the choice of Liberty Line very well.