No more orange – new tube map shows the renamed London Overground lines

Prepare to be both delighted and outraged, as the names are revealed for renaming the London Overground branches.

Plans to split the spaghetti of Orange lines on the tube map were announced back in April 2021 as a manifesto pledge by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, but it has taken until 2024 to complete the consultations and announce the names that have been chosen.

At the moment, the TfL style guide for referring to the various bits of the London Overground says:

• North London line is now ‘Overground Richmond/Clapham Junction – Stratford’
• West London line is now ‘Overground Willesden Junction – Clapham Junction’
• DC line/Watford Euston DC is now ‘Overground Watford Junction – Euston’
• Gospel Oak to Barking is now ‘Overground Gospel Oak – Barking’
• East London line is now ‘Overground Dalston/Highbury & Islington – West Croydon/Crystal Palace/New Cross’

Renaming things is always controversial, delighting some and outraging many — and doubtless, there will be howls of protest about specific choices and colours, and people will be exclaiming that they, personally, would have done it differently.

The new line names are:

The Lioness line: Yellow

Euston to Watford Junction

The Lioness line, which runs through Wembley, honours the historic achievements and lasting legacy created by the England women’s football team.

The Mildmay line: Blue

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.

The Windrush line: Red

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.

The Weaver line: Maroon

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 trades.

The Suffragette line: Green

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.

The Liberty line: Grey

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.

Although the lines are split into distinct colours and identities, the London Overground will continue to use the singular orange roundel for the entire service – not dissimilar to how the red roundel is used for the Underground service.

Now that the names have been announced, TfL will start the process of rebranding the line names, with the full rollout expected to be completed in one go by the end of the year.

TfL also confirmed that — obviously — validation and testing were undertaken to ensure the line colour selection was as inclusive as possible. This included active consideration of those with visual impairments, for example those with colour blindness.  Engagement also took place with TfL’s Independent Disability Advisory Group (IDAG), as well as accessibility and inclusion stakeholders through TfL’s Inclusive Transport Forum.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “This is a hugely exciting moment, transforming how we think about London’s transport network.

“Giving each of the Overground lines distinct colours and identities will make it simpler and easier for passengers to get around. In re-imagining London’s tube map, we are also honouring and celebrating different parts of London’s unique local history and culture.”

Full details about the new names and large copies of the new tube maps are here.