Stations rebranded to Great British Railways design / Rail Alphabet 2 & 3

[pr1]

I'd just started to get used to the thin arrows and "stacked" format and now we're back to thick arrows and individual sections!

 

[physics34]

Thankfully the thicker font and arrow mean common sense has prevailed

 

[nlogax]

I can get behind this new revision which fixes the bugbears with the previous implementations. Only hope that consistency prevails and we see this new guidance followed everywhere else!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I can get behind this new revision which fixes the bugbears with the previous implementations. Only hope that consistency prevails and we see this new guidance followed everywhere else!

Indeed. While I'm not a fan of the whole style myself, it is certainly the first iteration of it that I have seen that doesn't look amateurish and cheap.

 

[sh24]

Indeed. While I'm not a fan of the whole style myself, it is certainly the first iteration of it that I have seen that doesn't look amateurish and cheap.

Agreed. It's also striking how it now closely resembles the original BR design!

Sometimes the best change is no change.

 

[Transilien]

Agreed. It's also striking how it now closely resembles the original BR design!

Yes, the new rail alphabet actually carries some uniqueness unlike the old one. It reminds me of RA1 more than RA2 does. RA2 just looked too generic and didn’t really push any corporate identity.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes, the new rail alphabet actually carries some uniqueness unlike the old one. It reminds me of RA1 more than RA2 does. RA2 just looked too generic and didn’t really push any corporate identity.

RA2 just looked clumsy to me. If this is a totally new RA3 font, I think it actually looks OK. As you say it seems to be RA1 with very small tweaks to the letter shapes that make it look less dated rather than a new font that just to me looked odd.

 

[Leyland Bus]

RA2 just looked clumsy to me. If this is a totally new RA3 font, I think it actually looks OK. As you say it seems to be RA1 with very small tweaks to the letter shapes that make it look less dated rather than a new font that just to me looked odd.

RA3 is RA2 with some minor accessibility changes (hooked l and straight legged R for instance), the medium weight has also been beefed up aswell. Nothing to do with Rail Alphabet sadly.

 

[FOH]

Stairs showing on every row though gets repetitive and wastes space

 

[jon0844]

Looking at the images, it seems you're right. RA3, though? Not another one!

It's crazy to see this 'trial and error' approach to signage when there was a style guide. TfL must be looking on and laughing at how incompetent this whole new look has rolled out.

But it IS now starting to take shape, at last.

The signs at Cambridge South are the best yet, but I find it rather amusing that we're now on V3 of the rail typeface and symbols.

While I don't want money thrown down the toilet, I wonder if when they finally settle on a style and update the style guide ahead of rebranding the entire country, they'll go back and update the first generations?

 

[BurtonM]

Noticed recently that Northern are selling advertising space directly above/below the station name signs on the platforms at Manchester Oxford Road and Deansgate...
Is that 'on'? Seems wrong/unacceptable to me.

 

[py_megapixel]

Noticed recently that Northern are selling advertising space directly above/below the station name signs on the platforms at Manchester Oxford Road and Deansgate...
Is that 'on'? Seems wrong/unacceptable to me.

It's not a new thing, I'm fairly sure Virgin/Avanti [used to] do it

 

[sh24]

It's not a new thing, I'm fairly sure Virgin/Avanti [used to] do it

Network South East were doing this in the 80's.

 

[BurtonM]

Cheers- I can see it's not part of the station sign so I guess there's nothing so stop them.
I thought these new station signage plans were meant to stop such visual clutter when wayfinding though.

 

[pr1]

Stairs showing on every row though gets repetitive and wastes space

The original version of the new format removed the repetition by "stacking" all the turn lefts together, all the stay aheads together, etc; the given examples from Cambridge South seems to have returned to the previous format.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The original version of the new format removed the repetition by "stacking" all the turn lefts together, all the stay aheads together, etc; the given examples from Cambridge South seems to have returned to the previous format.

I get that "stacking" looks cleaner but it's harder to read given how you use a sign. You use the sign by looking for the thing you want then the indications of how to get to it. Stacking means you have to look somewhere other than just straight across, and is better designed to answer the question "what is over there?" which is not a question anyone is asking.

 

[FOH]

The original version of the new format removed the repetition by "stacking" all the turn lefts together, all the stay aheads together, etc; the given examples from Cambridge South seems to have returned to the previous format.

And it just seems out of proportion to afford the same space to a train image (where people want to get to) and to a stairs image (nothing to do with what they want, just a hurdle on the way)

 

[jon0844]

View attachment 206871
I took a few (poor) photos on opening day. It's a major improvement - not exactly great, but not as maddening as some earlier applications.

I can't be bothered to actually draw it out, but I wonder if the signs would be better with the symbols nearest the arrows - and the text could then say 'Platforms 2 and 3 via lift' or 'Platforms 2 and 3 via stairs' in one. I also think the platform icon should be between the arrow and text.

Maybe it wouldn't look right, but the purpose of icons is that they're internationally recognised symbols and the text is almost secondary.

That said, the platform icon may not look right moved unless it actually had 2&3 within its frame.

 

[GoneSouth]

Noticed recently that Northern are selling advertising space directly above/below the station name signs on the platforms at Manchester Oxford Road and Deansgate...
Is that 'on'? Seems wrong/unacceptable to me.

It shouldn’t be happening. It’s incredibly distracting from the message the sign is trying to convey. What makes this worse is the ads will probably be bright colours designed to grab your attention unlike the drab invisible font of the station name. Not impressed! I’ve seen these at other northern stations recently so it seems to be a big push to grab a few quid. Tacky, very tacky.

 

[Goldfish62]

It shouldn’t be happening. It’s incredibly distracting from the message the sign is trying to convey. What makes this worse is the ads will probably be bright colours designed to grab your attention unlike the drab invisible font of the station name. Not impressed! I’ve seen these at other northern stations recently so it seems to be a big push to grab a few quid. Tacky, very tacky.

The Commercial Director of Northern has done some good stuff since joining from the bus industry. This however isn't his best idea...

 

[BuhSnarf]

Hasn't this been happening for years, though. Fairly sure I've seen signs where it has the destination and then advertising the local university or it saying "Home of..." and then lists a company that is based in the city.

Although, I'd assume under GBR there will be no requirement for third party advertising unless they're going to have adverising as a way of bringing in some extra money which I'm not against if it's invested back in the railway.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Looking at the one above, I'm not sure pointing the direction to the accessible toilet and Changing Places via the stairs is that useful? Yes, there are a few use cases for it where the person will be able to use stairs, but it does cause the sign to be rather cluttered and potentially confusing to the majority of its users. It would be better to indicate the accessible toilet on the same line as the lift, or at least have it there as well.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Jun 2026 ==

The Commercial Director of Northern has done some good stuff since joining from the bus industry. This however isn't his best idea...

Northern is an utter financial basket case. If this saves some subsidy or improves the service I'm all for it. Plenty of stations have it already and have had for years.

 

[Goldfish62]

Northern is an utter financial basket case. If this saves some subsidy or improves the service I'm all for it. Plenty of stations have it already and have had for years.

I think you're going to be very disappointed if you're expecting it to achieve either.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think you're going to be very disappointed if you're expecting it to achieve either.

Those are the only two things it can do...

 

[GoneSouth]

Those are the only two things it can do...

But won’t. It’s just more tatty station clutter that nobody will maintain. How much realistically do we think it will save in subsidy? Part of what ‘Penistone’s longest established solicitor’ or ’Filey’s Best Ice Cream Store’ pay will be swallowed up in admin, leaving pennies to put back in to shrink the subsidy.

Companies pay to advertise on the side of buses because they’re visible throughout the day to thousands of people and you can’t help looking at them or they’ll kill you! Not really the case for a deserted Dronfield, Desolate Daisy Hill, Empty Elsecar, Bleak Blackpool South… you get the picture

Who wants to advertise at a run down shed with a couple of dozen people passing through each day. You can bet nobody on the train is looking, they all want to forget where they are!

 

[Leyland Bus]

But won’t. It’s just more tatty station clutter that nobody will maintain. How much realistically do we think it will save in subsidy? Part of what ‘Penistone’s longest established solicitor’ or ’Filey’s Best Ice Cream Store’ pay will be swallowed up in admin, leaving pennies to put back in to shrink the subsidy.

Companies pay to advertise on the side of buses because they’re visible throughout the day to thousands of people and you can’t help looking at them or they’ll kill you! Not really the case for a deserted Dronfield, Desolate Daisy Hill, Empty Elsecar, Bleak Blackpool South… you get the picture

Who wants to advertise at a run down shed with a couple of dozen people passing through each day. You can bet nobody on the train is looking, they all want to forget where they are!

Not every train station is empty and that is the trade off, blanket coverage.

 

[Goldfish62]

Those are the only two things it can do...

There's a third thing it can do. Nothing.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There's a third thing it can do. Nothing.

That would require it to make no profit. Which would seem unlikely, as what would be the point?

As Northern is a nonprofit Government body it can't go into shareholders' pockets, it can only do the two things outlined. If it doesn't make any money it should be binned, but it certainly will.

 

[Watershed]

That would require it to make no profit. Which would seem unlikely, as what would be the point?

As Northern is a nonprofit Government body it can't go into shareholders' pockets, it can only do the two things outlined. If it doesn't make any money it should be binned, but it certainly will.

As with all TOCs, Northern is still legally a private limited company. Profits - i.e. an underspend relative to the budget - are generally retained to cover for overspend in future years or might result in a reduced subsidy the following year.

 

[Bletchleyite]

As with all TOCs, Northern is still legally a private limited company. Profits - i.e. an underspend relative to the budget - are generally retained to cover for overspend in future years or might result in a reduced subsidy the following year.

Exactly. The money is an advantage to the taxpayer or passenger. The downside is minor.