Worst network diagram?

[styles]

I came across this CrossCountry diagram yesterday: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrossCountry#/media/File:CrossCountry_network.svg

Obviously these schematics are simplifications, but I thought it was perhaps a bit off having Aberdeen as far 'west' as Penzance.

Is there a less representative diagram out there?

 

[swt_passenger]

The proximity of Glasgow and Manchester? It reminds me of a Southern onboard map that looked weird as it had Southampton and Milton Keynes as very near neighbours.

 

[D1537]

The thing that I noticed straight away is that Stansted Airport is apparently now in North Lincolnshire.

Is this an official map, though?

Edit: answered below

 

[Vexed]

The proximity of Glasgow and Manchester? It reminds me of a Southern onboard map that looked weird as it had Southampton and Milton Keynes as very near neighbours.

Same distance as the half hour hop between Southampton and Bournemouth apparently. And Bournemouth is now in Brighton

 

[trentside]

Quite impressed that has been on Wikipedia since 2021. I did get worried it was an official production at first but it turns out the actual XC network map is much more representative!

https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/sites/default/files/basic_page_docs/12058264_illustrated_route_map_q4_2023_a4_-1.pdf

 

[py_megapixel]

I can't for the life of me find it now, but for a while there was a Grand Central map (on their official website I think!) that showed Peterborough twice!

 

[zwk500]

Honorary mention to the infamous TRU Map...

2 Manchester Airports, 3 Warringtons surrounding Chester, 2 Huddersfields, Hull having an identity crisis, York having an out-of-body experience and Manchester Piccadilly having moved to Chesterfield all take some beating.

 

[dosxuk]

I think this topic should be limited to official diagrams, as it's very easy for anyone to create a terrible one. Such as the attempt in the first post.

 

[Cach17]

I came across this CrossCountry diagram yesterday: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrossCountry#/media/File:CrossCountry_network.svg

Obviously these schematics are simplifications, but I thought it was perhaps a bit off having Aberdeen as far 'west' as Penzance.

Is there a less representative diagram out there?

Oh goodness, I consider Rcsprinter123's network maps to be a plague on TOC Wikipedia pages. If I recall the one that used to be on the SWR page got removed for blatantly plagarising the shape of the official SWR network map.

 

[Sealink]

I came across this CrossCountry diagram yesterday: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrossCountry#/media/File:CrossCountry_network.svg

Obviously these schematics are simplifications, but I thought it was perhaps a bit off having Aberdeen as far 'west' as Penzance.

Is there a less representative diagram out there?

I like that Glasgow is closer to Aberdeen and Manchester than Edinburgh!

 

[Warrior2852]

Manchester Piccadilly having moved to Chesterfield

Clearly Network Rail's attempt to ensure they can keep control of Piccadilly amongst the Bee Network expansion, by moving it way out of TfGM's territory!

 

[SargeNpton]

I find the current Network Rail route diagram to be an abomination. Schematic maps work well for metros and local extracts but not for displaying the whole country with the geography distorted (as below).

A great step backward from the map that used to accompany the National Rail Timetable until it ceased publication.

 

[MarkyT]

Honorary mention to the infamous TRU Map...

2 Manchester Airports, 3 Warringtons surrounding Chester, 2 Huddersfields, Hull having an identity crisis, York having an out-of-body experience and Manchester Piccadilly having moved to Chesterfield all take some beating.

Needs more Huddersfields and Hulls to balance the clear Lancashire bias.

 

[A S Leib]

Whilst it may not be the most egregious as it's a recent addition and has to go somewhere, Reading definitely isn't as close to Uxbridge as the tube map shows.

For a non-UK example, Bad Dürkheim on the Rhein-Neckar tram map's another case of a long westward line being bent to fit in.

 

[D1537]

Schematic maps work well for metros and local extracts but not for displaying the whole country with the geography distorted (as below).

TPE's route map always makes me look askance at it. I think it's both the scale (Liverpool to Manchester is longer than Newcastle to Edinburgh) and the fact that everything from York to Stalybridge goes due south, as if it's some bizarre southern extension of the East Coast Main Line.

TPE route map

 

[MarkyT]

Whilst it may not be the most egregious as it's a recent addition and has to go somewhere, Reading definitely isn't as close to Uxbridge as the tube map shows.

For a non-UK example, Bad Dürkheim on the Rhein-Neckar tram map's another case of a long westward line being bent to fit in.

The version I'm looking at showing Thameslink has a similar distortion for Brighton line services going south towards Gatwick. A common technique for adding a long line at an extremity in a complex transit map.

Now check out Tokyo!:

https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/routemaps/pdf/routemap_majorrailsub.pdf

 

[Peter0124]

Sounds like they struggled to fit the map onto a square, so squished it together.
Didn't have Glasgow being further south than Leeds on my bingo card. Nor Aberdeen and Newcastle.

 

[Warrior2852]

Sounds like they struggled to fit the map onto a square, so squished it together.
Didn't have Glasgow being further south than Leeds on my bingo card. Nor Aberdeen and Newcastle.

It's not an official map, it was made by a Wikipedia editor for the purposes of giving the article a map.

 

[Cross City]

Some people here need to learn the difference between a diagram and a map.

The one linked in the OP is fine. It's clear, easy to read, and you get the gist of the route network easily. It's stylised to look like an X, for obvious reasons.

The fact it has Aberdeen in the top left of the image is largely irrelevant, if you wanted to know where it was in relation to other cities, you'd look at a map.

 

[azOOOOOma]

The version I'm looking at showing Thameslink has a similar distortion for Brighton line services going south towards Gatwick. A common technique for adding a long line at an extremity in a complex transit map.

Now check out Tokyo!:

https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/routemaps/pdf/routemap_majorrailsub.pdf

Oh my word! Chaotically beautiful.

 

[frankmoh]

Quite impressed that has been on Wikipedia since 2021. I did get worried it was an official production at first but it turns out the actual XC network map is much more representative!

https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/sites/default/files/basic_page_docs/12058264_illustrated_route_map_q4_2023_a4_-1.pdf

Well, aside from the fact that Kent doesn't have any railways on this map!

 

[Farang]

On the Tokyo map it's easy to relate the station name to the correct circle. The Cross Country thing is a typographical abomination, especially where the station names spread over two lines.

Stansted Airport above Cambridge? Brings to mind the movie "Krakatoa - East of Java".

 

[Davester50]

I find the current Network Rail route diagram to be an abomination. Schematic maps work well for metros and local extracts but not for displaying the whole country with the geography distorted (as below).

A great step backward from the map that used to accompany the National Rail Timetable until it ceased publication.

Most/All of the new "project mapping" diagrams are a poor replacement for those old GBTT maps.

 

[mailbyrail]

Well said Cross City - it's an excellent diagram, not a bad map.
Project Mapping - the clue is in the name - have taken cartography back to the dark ages.

 

[J-2739]

Oh goodness, I consider Rcsprinter123's network maps to be a plague on TOC Wikipedia pages. If I recall the one that used to be on the SWR page got removed for blatantly plagarising the shape of the official SWR network map.

I agree, really horrid network maps.

 

[A S Leib]

Most/All of the new "project mapping" diagrams are a poor replacement for those old GBTT maps.

That might be a difference of what you're used to; I prefer the Project Mapping ones, especially as a lot of the time I'm looking for TOC routes which I don't think the GBTT ones show.

 

[Flying Snail]

I can't stand any of the "Project Mapping" abominations, fine if they were in addition to the original BR network maps but of course these digital era cretins always know best. Rather than learn from the past they arrogantly believe they are superior and purposely remove and replace the old.

 

[Buzby]

I was enjoying seeing that Glasgow St Enoch had been resurrected (on the Wiki map)!

 

[Royston Vasey]

Oh my word! Chaotically beautiful.

That reminds me of the first time I stood in an urban station somewhere on that map, trying to find my way to the office, looking up at exactly that diagram except all the labels were in Japanese! Thank goodness for Google!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Feb 2026 ==

I find the current Network Rail route diagram to be an abomination. Schematic maps work well for metros and local extracts but not for displaying the whole country with the geography distorted (as below).

A great step backward from the map that used to accompany the National Rail Timetable until it ceased publication.
View attachment 199104

That's exactly how I remember the A1 size BR route map I had in the late 1989s, stuck to the inside of our attic roof for easy reference. It's not elegant, no, but it's extremely clear and practical.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Feb 2026 ==

The National Rail site does have quite a large range of downloadable maps. The geographically correct "All Stations" route maps were a fantastic idea and should be there but the resolution is so high and text so tiny that it's extremely unwieldy to refer to even on a very large screen!

My favourite is the TOC based "Train Operator Route map" showing all routes but nicely colour coded and showing just enough information to be useful and intuitive at a glance. I refer to it almost daily.

https://assets.nationalrail.co.uk/e...3a298aa0e1367d52a7ce/TOCs_GB_v64_Dec_2025.pdf

The worst is the new "interactive map" with childish text that attempts to make a tube map at every scale and shows more stations as you zoom. I find it loses any context and the animations are a diatraction, though I concede it's a smart idea.

https://railmap.nationalrail.co.uk/#/mapview

 

[Purple Train]

Some people here need to learn the difference between a diagram and a map.

The one linked in the OP is fine. It's clear, easy to read, and you get the gist of the route network easily. It's stylised to look like an X, for obvious reasons.

The fact it has Aberdeen in the top left of the image is largely irrelevant, if you wanted to know where it was in relation to other cities, you'd look at a map.

These are my thoughts too. Of course this doesn't stop graphic designer types layering diagrams on top of maps and thus confusing everyone else... Thankfully for the sanity of the forum it seems that being a rail enthusiast entails a good grasp of geography!