New Tube Map Design for National Engineering Day 2023

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01 November 2023 | Updated 03 November 2023

To mark National Engineering Day, a reimagined version of the iconic London Tube map features 274 Tube and Elizabeth line stations renamed after notable engineers.

Transport for London (TfL), the Royal Academy of Engineering and the London Transport Museum has unveiled its “Engineering Icons” design, which can be seen online and at the London Transport Museum.

The map honours engineers from various sectors including transport, defence, entertainment, computing and health.

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “So much of London and the daily lives of Londoners has been designed, created and improved by engineers, and today it remains a hub of engineering innovation, from next generation transport to the development of AI tools to improve cancer diagnosis.

“So I’m delighted that, to mark National Engineering Day, TfL has worked with the Academy to create this map that recognises the achievements of both established and up and coming engineers who have shaped our lives. The work of engineers often goes unrecognised, which means many of us have a limited idea of what engineering really is. Today is a day to change that and uncover the stories of ingenuity, teamwork and persistence that have made their mark on the city around us.”

Who Features in the Map?

Harry Beck

Oxford Circus station has been renamed as Harry Beck, who started working for London Transport as an electrical draughtsman in the London Underground Signal Engineer’s office. In 1931, he produced his first design for an integrated diagrammatic map, a design that remains in the present day.

Eneni Bambara-Abban

Nine Elms station has been renamed after Eneni Bambara-Abban, a robotics engineer and Founder of The Techover Foundation, an NGO that advocates for the next generation of engineers.

Ada Lovelace

Warren Street has been renamed as Ada Lovelace, who is considered the world’s first computer programmer. Ada was a mathematician who worked on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, designed in 1837.

Sir Charles Kao

Harrow-on-the-Hill station has been renamed after Sir Charles Kao who was known as the father of fibre optic communications and led the way in pioneering information technology, for which he won a Nobel Prize.

UK Engineering Facts and Figures

• Almost half (47 per cent) of UK pupils aged between 11 and 19 have not even considered engineering as a potential career.
• Only 16.5 per cent of the UK engineering workforce is made up of women, and black and minority ethnic groups represent around 11.4 per cent.
• In 2022, there were 729,000 engineering businesses across the whole of the UK, representing 13% of all UK businesses.
• A report commissioned by EngineeringUK says that vacancies for green engineering roles in the UK increased by 55 per cent in the past five years, driven by the focus on achieving a net-zero economy by 2050.

Picture: an image showing a section of the specially commissioned Map, showing a central area where the Central, Victoria, Bakerloo, Jubilee (and many others) cross, including its temporarily renamed station such as Alexander Graham Bell and Alan Turing.

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 01 November 2023

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