The recently rebrand to the London Overground could have happened in 2015, but the former Mayor of London Boris Johnson opted to keep all the lines orange – rejecting the proposals after customer research that cost £10,000.
Transport for London (TfL) offered a proposal that detailed why new line names were needed. Their customer research included 895 interviews at 11 different stages and concluded customers ‘struggle to comprehend the wider Overground network’ and find the interchanges ‘particularly hard to navigate’, as a result of the lack of differentiation in line colours at the time.
“I think the Overground should try rebranding the lines. It’s already confusing enough with all of the different parts of it. Perhaps they should give the orbital itself its own name and then rename the bits coming off and through it based on destinations.”
The line names however, would not be the same as they are now. Windrush, Mildmay, Suffragette, Weaver, Lioness and Liberty lines could have instead been East London, North London, Barking, Lea Valley, Watford Local and Emerson Park respectively.
You’ll notice the Lea Valley line is subject to change. That is because TfL were planning on running a competition to see what the public would like the name to be. There would be no chance for the public to pick ‘Liney McLine Face’ though – TfL offered 5 different options: Hackney, William Morris, Jazz, River Lea or Southbury.
The final proposal also offered options for the colour of the lines, including keeping the original orange colours.
Ultimately, it seems Boris saw no need to change the lines. After all, it was the former Conservative London Mayor, who decided the lines would all be orange in 2007. Despite TfL recommending a ‘clear need for change’ and ‘line differentiation via different coloured and named branches’, Boris opted for continuity even after £10,175 was spent on customer research.
It would be nearly 10 years before Sadiq Khan would reconsider, giving us the line names we currently have.
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HeadlineBoris said no to Overground rebrand 10 years ago
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StandfirstThe recently renamed Overground names could have been rebranded in 2015, but then-mayor Boris Johnson chose to keep all the lines orange
The recently rebrand to the London Overground could have happened in 2015, but the former Mayor of London Boris Johnson opted to keep all the lines orange – rejecting the proposals after customer research that cost £10,000.
Transport for London (TfL) offered a proposal that detailed why new line names were needed. Their customer research included 895 interviews at 11 different stages and concluded customers ‘struggle to comprehend the wider Overground network’ and find the interchanges ‘particularly hard to navigate’, as a result of the lack of differentiation in line colours at the time.
“I think the Overground should try rebranding the lines. It’s already confusing enough with all of the different parts of it. Perhaps they should give the orbital itself its own name and then rename the bits coming off and through it based on destinations.”
The line names however, would not be the same as they are now. Windrush, Mildmay, Suffragette, Weaver, Lioness and Liberty lines could have instead been East London, North London, Barking, Lea Valley, Watford Local and Emerson Park respectively.
You’ll notice the Lea Valley line is subject to change. That is because TfL were planning on running a competition to see what the public would like the name to be. There would be no chance for the public to pick ‘Liney McLine Face’ though – TfL offered 5 different options: Hackney, William Morris, Jazz, River Lea or Southbury.
The final proposal also offered options for the colour of the lines, including keeping the original orange colours.
Ultimately, it seems Boris saw no need to change the lines. After all, it was the former Conservative London Mayor, who decided the lines would all be orange in 2007. Despite TfL recommending a ‘clear need for change’ and ‘line differentiation via different coloured and named branches’, Boris opted for continuity even after £10,175 was spent on customer research.
It would be nearly 10 years before Sadiq Khan would reconsider, giving us the line names we currently have.
