Goodbye Overground – Hello Windrush!
Transport for London has announced that the six lines making up London’s Overground network are to be renamed this autumn.
Our local Overground line running from Highbury & Islington in the north to West Croydon, Crystal Palace, New Cross and Clapham Junction is to be rebranded the Windrush Line to honour the Windrush community from the West Indies. The Windrush vessel brought one of the first large groups from the West Indies to Britain in 1948.
On the map the Windrush line will be branded with new signs and red parallel lines to be used on tube maps. The other five Overground lines will also be renamed and have new signage.
It’s a great idea to rename the Overground lines – although critics might suggest that the biggest problem on our local Overground line is for inexperienced travellers heading south. With four destinations to choose from – Clapham Junction, West Croydon, Crystal Palace and New Cross – an inexperienced or new commuter might still get confused whatever you called the line.
Others might argue that some of the names have a fairly tenuous link with the areas they serve. The Romford to Upminster line, for example, is to be renamed the Liberty line because the people in this area are “independent minded”. Isn’t everyone?
The other renamed Overground lines are:
The Lioness line: Euston to Watford Junction – running through Wembley, the new name is to honour the achievements of the England women’s football team. Marked with yellow parallel lines
The Mildmay line: Stratford to Richmond/Clapham Junction – named after the charitable hospital in Shoreditch. Marked with blue parallel lines
The Weaver line: Liverpool Street to Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford. With stops including Liverpool Street, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green and Hackney, the route travels through several areas of London known historically for the textile trade. It will be marked with maroon parallel lines
The Suffragette line: Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside. Named to celebrate how London’s East End working-class community fought for women’s rights, the line also runs to Barking, home of the longest-surviving suffragette, Annie Huggett, who died aged 103. On the map it will be marked with green parallel lines
The Liberty line: Romford to Upminster. Named “to reference the historical independence of the people of the borough of Havering”, through which it runs, as well as celebrating “a defining feature of London”. On the map it will be marked with grey parallel line
