Olympic Tube Map Renames Stations with names of Sporting Celebrities

"Depart at Daley Thompson for the Lost Property Office".  "Next stop Cassius Clay". "Calling at Fanny Blankers-Koen and all stations to Richmond" Some of the phrases you might hear if drivers were to follow a new Tube map. With more than a large nod to The Great Bear where Turner Prize winning artist Simon Patterson changed Tube station names on the London Underground Map to celebrities, TfL are going to be doing a similar version for the London Olympics. Stratford International station on the Docklands Light Railway will be re-named Cassius Clay, boxing legend Muhammad Ali's original name when he won the light heavyweight gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics.



Brits Daley Thompson & Steve Redgrave, American athletes Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, Australian swimming legends Murray Rose and Dawn Fraser and basketball great Magic Johnson are amongst other athletes who will have a London underground station named after them on a special map during the London Games later this year.

The Underground Olympic Legends Map was designed by Alex Trickett and David Brooks who said: "We love sport, we love lists and we love London, so what better challenge than to select 361 of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen and to fit them on to our iconic Tube map.

"There were heated debates and a few late changes of heart, but we are happy with the result: dozens of nations represented, all 2012 Olympic sports accounted for, and Ali and Phelps, two of the greatest Olympians of all time, guarding the Stratford gateways to the Games." 

"These things always divide opinion, so we are happy to discuss (and defend!) any of our choices"



Baker Street is renamed Daley Thompson for the two-time decathlon gold medallist, while Leicester Square is LeBron James and Knightsbridge is Steve Redgrave.

Track stars make up a good part of the map, running from west to east and all around the centre of London. Swimmers take up most of the Central Line. Basketball and tennis players run from north to south, with stops Magic Johnson and Sheryl Swoopes being followed by Roger Federer, The Woodies Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, and The Williams sisters Serena and Venus.

Ian Thorpe is the new name for the Oxford Circus station. Piccadilly Circus is renamed Mia Hamm after the USA's gold-medal winning football player.

A watermarked sample of the full map is on TfL's site and a poster can be purchased for £4.99

Update - Fanny Blankers-Koen, a Dutchwoman who was one of the biggest stars of the 1948 London Olympics, was originally left off a new map of the London Underground dedicated to past Olympians, prompting criticism from the Netherlands.

On 4th April 2012 , the track star known as the ''FlyingHousewife'' was added to the list for future prints.
''We apologise if any offence has been caused by the omission of Fanny Blankers-Koen, who was clearly a remarkable athlete,'' TfL marketing director Chris Macleod said in a statement. ''We are speaking to the publisher to ensure that she features in the next reprint of the map.''  I had never heard of her until she was mentioned in the comments, but am delighted that Fanny will be on the Olympic Tube map.  If only they were real stations, I would pay good money to hear drivers announcing that the next train will be stopping at Fanny!


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London Overground Stations to get WiFi in time for Olympics

After the announcement that Virgin Media won the contract to provide wi-fi to the London Underground, now it's been announced that London’s Overground train passengers will be able to access 60 minutes of free wi-fi per day with the introduction of hotspots at 56 stations. The Next Web report that the hotspots will be managed by The Cloud which is owned by BSkyB and users will need to register once to access the service.


Shadwell London Overground station by Mr. Grossman
The contract will give travellers one hour of free online access every day, at any station on the network.  Some of the major London stations to get the service in time for the stations in time for the London 2012 Olympics this summer will be Dalston, Forest Hill, Hackney Central, Kensington Olympia, New Cross Gate, Norwood Junction, Shepherd’s Bush, Surrey Quays, Wapping, West Croydon, West Hampstead and Willesden Junction.  The rollout to all London Overground stations is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“Access to the internet is no longer limited solely to home or to the workplace, and people’s expectation is to be able to work and communicate effectively and seamlessly while they’re on the move so we’re delighted to support this initiative which will bring reliable, free WiFi to London Overground’s customers,” said Steve Murphy, Managing Director of London Overground Rail Operations.

Virgin Media is building the wi-fi network on the London Underground from a total capital expenditure budget of about £640m for 2012.  There will be a period of free access during the Olympics, and then only Virgin Media's broadband & mobile customers will get continued access as part of their subscriptions. Other non-paying users will be limited to a site showing online travel information.

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Limited edition Jubilee & London 2012 Olympics Oyster cards

TfL are to produce a limited number of special Oyster cards to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee & the 2012 London Olympic Games. Around 250,000 cards with the Queen's face on them will be available from mid May 2012 and 1.5 million cards for the Olympics will be on sale from June 2012.


Boris Johnson gave the Queen her commemorative Oyster card yesterday as he led a delegation to Buckingham Palace to deliver a loyal address.  It's unlikely that she'll use it as I think she was last seen on the Tube when the Victoria Line opened in 1969, but you never know.

You'll be able to get your hands on both cards at all London Underground ticket offices & selected Oyster ticket machines within Zone 1, as well as TfL Travel Information Centres. The official designs   unveiled by TfL will have the normal  £5 deposit and £5 minimum top-up.


The second card, expected to be available in mid June, celebrates all of the events taking place in the capital this summer, including the London 2012 Games. Shashi Verma, TfL's Director of Customer Experience, said: 'Commemorative Oyster cards have been very popular with the travelling public in the past and we are delighted to be able to offer Londoners and visitors the chance to have a special memento of what will be a summer like no other.'

He added: 'Transport will play a vital role in bringing people out to see The Queen during her Diamond Jubilee, and in getting people to all of the sporting and cultural events during the London 2012 Games and so it is fitting that we have limited edition Oyster cards that they can use and keep to mark these wonderful, once in a lifetime, occasions.'

Boris was equally happy about people rushing to this summer's event and said in the loyal address "Londoners will flock to the banks of the Thames to see your Jubilee Pageant pass down the river and the whole city looks forward to the moment in the summer when Your Majesty will declare the Games open, in the heart of a renewed east London, now transformed from the devastation of the blitz and post-war decline."


The first "limited edition" Oyster card was introduced last year for the Royal Wedding and 750,000 were produced.  TfL are clearly hoping that sales of the new ones for the "summer of celebration" will be just as popular.

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Certain Tube Journeys Affected by Games - Another "Get Ahead of The Games" Tube Poster

The latest of the posters from the ‘Get Ahead of the Games’ series is on the London Underground. Its all part of the campaign to ensure that tourists, Londoners & commuters can effectively plan their journeys during the Olympic Games. Two weightlifting people try to squeeze themselves out of Tube doors at the same time, with the caption "Certain journeys will be affected during the Games". "Certain" journeys? Why not try "all" journeys?

Well unless you are travelling just a few stops on the outskirts of West, South or North London, your journey won't be affected.  So they're right.  Otherwise every other Tube journey during the Olympics will be affected.

Anyway, back to the advert, if you are free today - Tuesday 27th March 2012 - you can get the chance to star in a re-construction of the above ad.  The people behind the campaign are "looking for extras to appear with our two Weightlifters in a very special video and photoshoot. We'll be filming at a disused station, with our own Tube train and platform!"  It might be too late to apply now - but you never know -  if you're free at lunchtime and can get to Charing Cross, where the filming will be taking place on the old Jubilee Line platform, get in touch.

If you're one of the people going, please let me know how it went.  I'd love too see how they re-construct the old lady on the right of the picture with her cat (or is it a white squirrel) in the shopping trolley! 

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"Take away free travel from Rude Youths" - Boris Johnson transport manifesto pledge

Many of you will have heard Boris Johnson's transport manifesto for his re-election campaign. Most bloggers and press are focussing on his pledge to introduce driverless Tube trains, however in the transport plan there's another rather bizarre pledge.

Boris has said as part of his plan he would withdraw the right to free public transport from young people (under-16's get free bus travel) who refuse to give up their seats for people who are elderly, pregnant or disabled.


Apparently the scheme, which would operate on a two strikes and you're out policy, would also apply to youngsters using offensive or threatening language on public transport.


A spokesman for the mayor said the plan would cost Londoners nothing and be "self-enforcing".

Self enforcing? So that implies that other people are going to have to report youths to someone - London Underground station staff, the BTP, TfL - who knows?! And say what? "I heard a young person using the F-word a lot". "A girl with hooped earrings kissed her teeth at me when I told her to take her feet off the seats".


In all seriousness can anyone see this actually happening? Also who deems what is offensive. Certain people pepper their sentences with swear words all the time and actually don't mean to be offensive.

Many Londoners feel embarrassed enough asking people (youths or adults) to give up their seats for pregnant women or those who are elderly or generally look as if they are in need of a seat.

Also why just penalise youths for this behaviour?  If  Boris seriously thinks anti social behaviour in public transport is so awful why not ban everyone who is offensive on public transport.  He banned drinking alcohol, who why not just ban swearing in general and offer a two strikes on your out rule for people who don't give up their seats to those who need them?


Shouldn't more be done to make everyone behave more considerately to others on public transport?  Even though Boris believes his pledge "would cost Londoners nothing", he's wrong.  There is always a cost to policing something, even a fairly bonkers idea like this one.  Why not spend a bit more money on posters which are not as mawkish as the ones TfL introduced a few years back?

If you're near a radio or internet that has access to Radio 5 Live today at 5.20pm (ish) listen out for my dulcet tones on the subject.  But in the meantime feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

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