Unlocking London's Underground Network for All
Our maps are fundamentally about helping people use our network. So how do we make sure they're accessible for all?
Indexed Tube Map showing Step Free access stations (2020-05-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Accessibility
TfL produces a range of guides in alternative formats to help people plan and make journeys. They include audio, large print, black and white, step free, maps illustrating where toilets can be found, and guides to getting around London using different transport modes
Opening of Chesham Branch Line (1889-07-08)TfL Corporate Archives
But with some of our infrastructure now over 160 years old, providing a "step free" network is a work in progress requiring time, investment, and planning
London Underground Map Showing Stations Under Construction for Step Free Access (1998-07-09) by London Regional TransportTfL Corporate Archives
This 1998 map shows stations under consideration for step-free access by 31 March 2000. Compare the stations listed with the following map from 2002 to see which were actioned
Tube map identifying stations to be made step-free by 2020 (2002-08-01)TfL Corporate Archives
This 2002 map highlights the station programme for step-free access by 2020. It shows that the existing step free stations at this period tended to be at the ends of the network
Thanks to the Jubilee Line Extension you could have got to Westminster, London Bridge or Southwark within Zone 1, but only if your starting destination was another step-free station
Westminster borough profile leaflet (2012-03-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Winning the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games bid in 2005 heightened awareness and impacted planning decisions on which stations received a higher priority for step free investment, as well as the speed and ambition of delivery
Metro Travel News - Tottenham Court Road becomes Step Free (2017-02-13)TfL Corporate Archives
Infrastructure change continues and the page we publish in the Metro Newspaper often highlights the most recent station to become step free, in this 2017 article it's Tottenham Court Road
Tactile diagram of zone 1 of the tube map produced for London Transport by the RNIB (1986-01-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Tactile Maps
In 1986, the London Transport Unit for Disabled Passengers worked with the Royal National Institute for the Blind to create a tactile diagram of the Central London Underground zone
Braile Map of Central London Tube Area (1986-09-15) by London Regional TransportTfL Corporate Archives
Index Key
On the tactile maps each line must be given a unique identity through touch. This highlights how much we take for granted the use of colour to illustrate contrast between our lines
Black and White versus Colour
TfL's official map and the colours used can be difficult for colour-blind people to distinguish. To address this, simple black and white editions have been produced using textures rather than colour to give lines a unique identity
What is "Step Free Access" Anyway?
There isn't 1 single way in which step free access is provided. It could mean that there are lifts at stations where previously there were only escalators
Blind train permit for unaccompanied travel (1959-06-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Audio Maps
TfL produced a series of audio line and station guides in 2016.
The line guides provide access information including lists of stations serviced, connections with other lines, and opening times
London Cable Car (2013-11-19) by Transport for LondonTfL Corporate Archives
Audio Maps
TfL produced a series of audio line and station guides in 2016.
These guides provide access information including highlighting potential risks like the size of gap between platform and train
Creating accessible maps isn't only about recreating existing resources in new formats, it is about thinking through accessibility of the end to end experience for the user and making sense of what we mean by step-free.
Step-Free Tube Guide including Docklands Light Railway and London Overground (2012-06-15) by Transport for LondonTfL Corporate Archives
This "step free" map from 2012 illustrates the different information required to assist with planning end to end journeys
How do I access the station?
Can I exit or interchange?
And what about getting onto the train?
Is it level access from platform to train or if there's a gap, how big is it?
We may need to provide navigation maps for the journeys within stations.
Metro Travel News - New app trial for accessibility (2015-12-17)TfL Corporate Archives
In a more up to date format, this is what the audio Wayfindr app trialled at Euston Station in 2015
Step free routes to Earl's Court venue (2012-07-16)TfL Corporate Archives
And there are maps that communicate information about the transfer away from the station, or connections between different transport modes
Toilets Map
A copy of the Tube Map showing the location of public toilets on or close by the network
Making Rail Accessible on the Elizabeth Line (2023-08-03) by Transport for LondonTfL Corporate Archives
The Elizabeth line - Accessible by Design
"All Elizabeth line stations are step free from street to platform."
Full details of accessible features of the line, its stations and trains were published in a designated guide in January 2023, including stations with level boarding and turn up and go service
TfL may not have reached the terminus of our accessible journey yet, but we hope the archive collections used here show the clear direction of travel.
Story compiled by TfL using information in records at the Transport for London Corporate Archives. The Corporate Archives seeks to preserve and make accessible records, not to interpret them. A wider range of material is available for physical consultation.
Permission is granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only.
