'The Lioness line, which runs through Wembley, honours the historic achievements and lasting legacy created by the England women's football team that continues to inspire and empower the next generation of women and girls in sport. It will be yellow parallel lines on the map.'
The Mildmay line: Stratford to Richmond/Clapham Junction
'The Mildmay line, which runs through Dalston, honours the small charitable hospital in Shoreditch that has cared for Londoners over many years, notably its pivotal role in the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s, which made it the valued and respected place it is for the LGBTQ+ community today. It will be blue parallel lines on the map.'
The Windrush line: Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction/New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon
'The Windrush line runs through areas with strong ties to Caribbean communities today, such as Dalston Junction, Peckham Rye and West Croydon and honours the Windrush generation who continue to shape and enrich London's cultural and social identity today. It will be red parallel lines on the map.'
The Weaver line: Liverpool Street to Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford
'The Weaver line runs through Liverpool Street, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green and Hackney - areas of London known for their textile trade, shaped over the centuries by diverse migrant communities and individuals. It will be maroon parallel lines on the map.'
The Suffragette line: Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside
'The Suffragette line celebrates how the working-class movement in the East End, fought for votes for woman and paved the way for women's rights. The line runs to Barking, home of the longest surviving Suffragette Annie Huggett, who died at 103. It will be green parallel lines on the map.'
The Liberty line: Romford to Upminster
'The Liberty line celebrates the freedom that is a defining feature of London and references the historical independence of the people of Havering, through which it runs. It will be grey parallel lines on the map.'
Comments
Why is The Circle line more geographically descriptive than The Windrush Line? Neither mention a place and "the circle" could be anywhere.
Pretty obvious why they've turned the comments off on their social media posts on it. I would've given them numbers or letters due to how easily offended people are in this day and age.
I ask again, what do you suggest that would be specific and easy to recall?
The Liberty Line... Sounds like it would be better off being in New York
Lioness Line through Wembley ? .. I suggest the Clive Mendonca Line or the Bobby Moore Line
Liberty line is the only one I really have issue with because as you say it could be absolutely anywhere even with the explanation from TfL
Yes there was the Elephant, and the dangly bit going to New Cross and New Cross Gate, but for us it was all about overground, still is to a large extent. The Jubilee line touching a couple of places altered things a bit, and the DLR came in as quite a game changer, and now the Elizabeth line deigns to give us a couple of stops.
So the colours and name changes have less impact in South East London.
However if the map is good at highlighting merging points, like Lewisham overground with the DLR, or Woolwich Arsenal with the Elizabeth Line it will be great.
We have too many lines, most places with loads of lines have them numbered or lettered and it just works better.
You don't see a line running from Coney Island to Jamaica 179st in New York called the Jamaiconey line for instance, or the Flushing Meadows to Hudson Yards line called the Tennis line
Similarly in Paris you don't have the 5 line (running from Place D'Italie to Bobigny Pablo Picasso) called the Artiste line, or the 2 lines running through Arc De Triomphe to Nation, one to the north of the city and one to the South called the Ying and Yang lines or some such nonsense
People are homeless, people are struggling to make ends meet, rail fares continually rise, strikes are commonplace and they go and spend that amount of money to help people find their way around London with colourful parallel lines.
Do f*** off.
Giving the lines names makes perfect sense, the names are just names, don't really any objection to any of them. Liberty is a bit weak but it's just a name and there's nothing to get offended by unless that it what you always do whenever something new comes along.
The no descriptive line falls down with Jubilee, Elizabeth, District and Circle anyway. Bakerloo line doesn't start of end at either Baker St or Waterloo anymore. Piccadilly line does go through Piccadilly but otherwise it's not very descriptive.
How about The Dartford loop you .
The Lioness line runs through Wembley, where England won their first ever European championship title. The Mildmay line sheds light on a hospital charity which has served the poorest people in east London since the 1860s. The Weaver line celebrates the east London textile industry. The Suffragette line pays tribute to women. The Liberty line celebrates the Royal Liberty of Havering.
Before today, I knew nothing of Mildmay, very little of the Worshipful Company of Weavers and had never heard of a "Royal Liberty". If I can learn something more about the history and importance of London and the people who have called it home, then that's good for me. And if other people in future can learn more about women's football, universal suffrage and the Windrush, then that's great for everyone.
If you don't like the names - and, remember, running the transport infrastructure of the world's greatest city isn't a democracy: we don't all get to pick and choose which names, colours and numbers we like best - then, sadly, you will have to put up with them. In the same way we've had to put up with "the Metropolitan line" since January 1863 and the Elizabethe line since May 2022.
And, for those who are nervous, scared or insulted by names that don't seem to be entirely congruent with a map of London, do you really think that "Overground" - as these lines have been known since 2007 - adequately helps people decide where and when the services run?