London Overground: how six new names could influence passengers’ behaviour

Things have started to look very different across much of London.

Six train lines, previously clumped together as the London Overground, are being given individual identities. Since 2007, the 113 stations on these lines have appeared on signs, the Tube map and journey planning apps as running along the same orange line.

But the six lines operate almost completely independently of each other and the growing size of the Overground created confusion.

For example, to get from Watford Junction to Surrey Quays – both stations seemingly on the same line – a traveller would have to board an Overground train, switch to another Overground train, and finally change onto yet another Overground train. Now, they’d board the Lioness Line, switch to the Mildmay Line, then onto the Windrush Line.

The route is the same, but the journey is clearer (and might inspire them to take a more efficient route).

The new names were promised in 2022, consulted on in 2023, announced in February and are at last appearing on the network. The other new names are the Liberty Line, the Weaver Line and the Suffragette Line. In total, the rebrand is expected to cost £6.3 million.

That figure may seem high, but it includes changes being made to

• 6,000 signs;
• Tube maps across the network;
• in-train diagrams;
• PA announcements;
• Transport for London (TfL) apps and websites; and
• digital displays on trains and at stations.

The rebrand is being funded by the Mayor of London’s Greater London Authority budget, which is good news for TfL since Theresa May’s government removed TfL’s £700 million annual operating grant and Keir Starmer’s hasn’t reinstated it. TfL has been forced to scale back and delay plans for a number of new projects, including Crossrail 2 and a Bakerloo line extension.

Meanwhile, London’s population is growing and ageing infrastructure is causing disruption to services. The hope is that the Overground rebrand may influence passenger behaviour to ease bottlenecks at low cost.

Londoners should probably feel fortunate they have a body like TfL thinking about these things. There are few equivalents in the rest of the UK, where infrastructure is often overstretched and outdated.

One more thing. To anyone upset by the new names of the lines: names don’t truly matter. As soon as a train line’s name is in the public consciousness, its work is done. The reasoning behind a name doesn’t need to make sense.

As proof:

• The Northern line goes further south than any other other Tube line.
• The Central line stretches into Essex.
• The Jubilee line didn’t open during a jubilee year.
• The Bakerloo line goes well beyond Baker Street and Waterloo.
• The London Underground network is mostly above ground.