Request ID: FOI-0715-2223 Date published: 08 July 2022
You asked
Dear Sir/Madam
In respect of the tube maps made available by TfL at tube stations please can you provide the following information:
- When the release dates will be of the next three tube map editions (as precise as possible)
- What potential draft dates there are for the opening of Barking Riverside station and when the new map will be printed and distributed to stations that covers this extra addition to the network
- Which tube stations receive deliveries of tube maps first/what the methodology of the order of release to each tube station is
- Why some stations are much slower at putting updated tube maps out than others eg Earls Court station had January 2022 stations for several weeks after the Elizabeth line opening whereas others had these out on the day it opened
- What happens to old copies of tube maps when a new map is released (ie now the May 2022 map is released what happens to the January 2022 stock still at stations)
- Please also provide PDF copies of the May 2022 and January 2022 tube maps as they appear at tube stations in leaflet format ie including the front artwork
We answered
TfL Ref: 0715-2223
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 23 June 2022 asking for information about our Tube maps. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. Your questions and our replies are as follows:
- When the release dates will be of the next three Tube map editions (as precise as possible). The next map will coincide with the opening of the Elizabeth line station at Bond Street or the opening of stage 5B of the Elizabeth line however we do not hold an exact timeframe for this at this moment. The subsequent map would be released in December 2022 with the next one in May 2023. It then should go back to the standard December and May map release pattern.
- What potential draft dates there are for the opening of Barking Riverside station and when the new map will be printed and distributed to stations that covers this extra addition to the network. The London Overground extension to Barking Riverside is already shown on the May 2022 map as ‘Opening soon’. There will be a significant publicity campaign when it does. Consequently, in order to save costs, we will update our digital maps for the opening of Barking Riverside. The paper maps will show the extension fully when the Tube map requires an update as a result of the changes to the Elizabeth line service pattern as per our answer to point 1 above.
- Which Tube stations receive deliveries of Tube maps first/what the methodology of the order of release to each Tube station is.The stations are usually all treated equally, however if there is a problem with a print run and only a limited number of posters are available then zone 1 stations will be prioritised.
- Whysome stations are much slower at putting updated tube maps out than others eg Earls Court station had January 2022 stations for several weeks after the Elizabeth line opening whereas others had these out on the day it opened.Tube maps at LU stations are put in place by the local station staff and when this is done will depend on operational resources available.
- What happens to old copies of Tube maps when a new map is released (ie now the May 2022 map is released what happens to the January 2022 stock still at stations).They are taken down and recycled.
- Please also provide PDF copies of the May 2022 and January 2022 Tube maps as they appear at tube stations in leaflet format ie including the front artwork. PNG files containing the two post recent pocket Tube maps are attached (this is the format they are held in).
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Sara Thomas FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
