Metro Maps of the Future

The Twenty-Fifth of June Two Thousand and Eleven. Saturday.

Short and sweet today, I think. Time has run away with itself once again...

One of my favourite books is Mark Ovenden's Metro Maps of the World, which is basically a collection of tube, subway, light rail or - indeed - metro maps from all over the world. To a rail and map geek like me this book is a source of deep joy.

But we've always liked to look away to the future here at the windmill. And I say unto you now that there is only one thing better than a metro map and that is metro map showing all the proposed extensions and new routes that will be added to the network in the future. Some are official, some are just speculation, all are awesome. Will any of the phantom lines shown on these diagrams come into being? Some are being built even as we speak. Or type. Or whatever you've doing down your way.

Harry Beck's tube map is rightfully acknowledged as a design classsic around the world. It's tricky when you have something that perfect to add to it, but that doesn't mean someone hasn't had a go.

They've been going on about the Chelsea-Hackney line for yonks - don't know whether that'll ever come to fruition. Crossrail's not too far off now though.

It's like a sigil of some kind, some sort of tribal marking. We may think it's showing us stops on the tube, but who truly knows what its sinister purpose is. Don't stare at it too hard.

Manchester's Metrolink tram network is another scheme that's under expansion. Trams to Chorlton start very soon and new line up to Oldham and Rochdale opens next year. Here's the full proposed network (or 'metwork', if you will) - and here's a nifty geographic version.

It's a long way from the plans they had in the 70s for an underground Picc-Vic line.

Actual Picture of the Actual Sel-Nec Underground station at St Peter's Square (from a parallel world where this went ahead):

Cool.

The current New York subway map is fab too.

It looks like this won't change much until 2016 when the T line 2nd Avenue subway opens, New York's first new line for 70 years. But in the mean time, even though the trains aren't running yet, you can treat yourself to a T-shirt

I now return you to the present day. Even though it has ended up being tomorrow again. So much for a quick blog and then off to bed. Oh well.

More soonliest.