Introducing The Chromatic London Underground Map

I had been thinking about a way to represent the Tube network in some kind of Venn diagram for a while. I found out that in order to do so, some really weird shapes had to be involved, turning the map into a horrible mess (I’ll upload the results of that some time).

So I decided, more for aesthethical reasons than anything, to make a Tube map out of the intersections between the colours of the lines when their opacity is set at 50%. Inspiration came from this post from CASA’s kick-ass researcher Oliver O’Brien about the colours used in the network. I ended up with this map that, although doesn’t really correspond to reality, ended up being a nice piece of graphics and an alternative way of seeing the network (which was the ultimate goal of the experiment).

So here it is: The Chromatic London Underground Map

You can buy the A2 signed and numbered poster in the shop for £14.99. If you have any comments, or have spotted any of the millions of mistakes there must be, leave a comment or drop me an email.

Written by Francisco Dans on February 2, 2012
2 Comments
99
Francisco Dans
I don't think the data is available anywhere, sorry. Even my visualization doesn't reflect the whole trip. It just reflects what I could capture from the moment my program was ready to put points on a map.
miles
Thanks for the reply! Is this semi hidden real time data still available? I contacted the stratos team, but have had no luck. Also on your map, is it cropped? I thought he took off from the airport and there was a 46mile difference from take off to landing. I guess as the climb took hours and with the earths rotation that may have caused that shift and your pings started when he was preparing for the jump?
Francisco Dans
Hey Miles, The Red Bull Stratos (I think that's how it was called) had a semi-hidden real time feed of the coordinates of his suit. If you want to make the 3D model you'd need the altitude, or you can be cheeky and estimate that if you can get hold of the exact time of launch, exact time of landing, and altitude at launch. Unfortunately I don't keep any of those data, as it was mode of an exercise on speed coding (I was programming this in Processing when Baumgartner was already in orbit!).
miles
How did you do this? I am trying to make a physical 3D model of this path! Can you help?
djm
A link to back that up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denham_railway_station#Abandoned_Central_Line_Extension
djm
Hi, I think the 'Denham' and 'Harefield Rd' stations you've added to the East of the Central Line are in fact meant to be on the West as both Harefield and Denham are towns close to Uxbridge in the West. Great work by the way.
Tom
Fascinating, thanks for creating this. How about the proposed Battersea extension to the Northern Line?
London Underground Tube Map Showing All Ghost Stations & Unbuilt Lines | Randomly London
[...] where he’s seeking to add even more to the map. You can find out more about the project from his website and Flickr [...]
Me
Very interesting. Spotted a typo though - Great Misserden should be Great Missenden.
Den Forskrudde Oslo T-bane kart (The Twisted Oslo Underground Map) | Minefield Junction
[...] Main menu Skip to primary content Skip to secondary content HomeAbout meShop [...]
The Electric Tube | Suprageography
[...] work was inspired by the likes of Fransicso Dans (more) and Project Mapping, as well as of course the famous Official Tube [...]
traims
I suppose this might be a mini bus. At least, I found an old news report (which kind of proves that the bus existed!): in 2006, a robber has stolen 7000 euro and 15 passports belonging to other passengers (these reports are in Russian and can be found by Googling "ограблены пассажиры салоники тбилиси" + Google Translate). Wikitravel mentions: Neo-Turs bus company offers bus transfers Tbilsi - Thessaloniki - Athens and back, starting from Didube bus station (price: 100 US-$). http://wikitravel.org/en/Tbilisi Here is also a question about the bus on a Q&A website: http://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/2759/what-are-the-bus-coach-connections-from-thessaloniki-greece-to-tbilisi-georg
Markus
This looks really cool! I love the fact that you're playing and experienting with new ways to display this kind of information.
Lars
I like it! There's something truly playful and yet soothing about it, and you still kept the relative geographic locations. Brilliant (ment på norsk og engelsk form)!
Den Forskrudde Oslo T-bane kart (The Twisted Oslo Underground Map) | Minefield Junction
[...] Main menu Skip to primary content Skip to secondary content HomeAbout meShop [...]
T-bana i Oslo redesigna « Alt godt
[...] T-bana i Oslo redesigna Har du sett denne bloggen? [...]
The Chromatic Tube Map – Hannah | City Blog
[...] http://dansd.com/chroatic-london-underground-map/ [...]
Florence
I Love this map! - apologies can't think of anything else to elaborate, but when I am not so poor I am going to buy it. Personally I wouldn't worry about the mistakes as its more of an interpretation of a map than the really thing, and it works as it is.
A Parliament of Owls » An alternative tube map
[...] an original way of looking at the network and would make an attractive wall print. Handily, it’s available to buy on Francisco’s [...]
Alternative Tube Maps: The Chromatic Underground | Londonist
[...] we’ve seen of the Tube map, this has to be among the most visually pleasing: a chromatic diagram that represents “the intersections between the colours of the lines when their opacity is set [...]
Alternative Tube Maps: The Chromatic Underground | Londonist
[...] original way of looking at the network and would make an attractive wall print. Handily, it’s available to buy on Francisco’s website.See our comprehensive list of  Alternative Tube [...]
Introducing The Chromatic London Underground Map | Minefield Junction
[...] Main menu Skip to primary content Skip to secondary content HomeAbout meShop [...]
Introducing The Chromatic London Underground Map | Minefield Junction
[...] Main menu Skip to primary content Skip to secondary content HomeAbout meShop [...]
Nicoletto
Bravo!
Nicoletto
Che, está de puta madre!
Francisco Dans
Muchas gracias querido. A ver si posteo consistentemente de una puñetera vez. Un abrazo.
Don Mauser
Me congratula ser el primero en dejar un comentario en tu nuevo proyecto de blog. Un saludo, Francisco. Espero verte pronto. Pablo