Accessibility Design on London Underground
How some hidden design features make journeys so much easier
Flooring samples showing contrast (2021-07-06)TfL Corporate Archives
3 different colours of tube train floor
A darker and lighter colour are used in different areas - the aisle (near the seats) and the area near the tube doors. This is so that passengers with reduced vision can tell the difference more easily. The bottom 2 flooring samples are 2 options for lighter colours
Full view of a tube train carriage (2017-08-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Features are embedded into the design of London Underground
If you're an able bodied individual, you might not have noticed them. But the flooring colours, the poles, the seating fabric (moquette), and even the floor texture near the tube doors, all include subtle accessibility design features
Here is a virtual tour of some of our design features on the tube. With an interview from Product Design Manager: Paul Marchant, who talks about design
Full view of a tube train carriage (2017-08-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Here is a full carriage view of the train
Can you notice the subtle accessibility design features?
Here's a virtual tour of some design features on the tube. With an interview from Product Design Manager: Paul Marchant
Full view of a tube train carriage greyscaled (2017-08-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Here is a black and white version
Some features may become more obvious
Full view of a tube train carriage greyscaled and labelled (2017-08-01)TfL Corporate Archives
These features have now been labelled
Level Access Flooring tile (2021-07-06)TfL Corporate Archives
Level access tile
An embedded design, rather than an afterthought
Display board on underground train (2017-08-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Display board
Accompanied by audio announcements
Colours used on TfL network (2021-07-06)TfL Corporate Archives
Transport for London colours
A swatch of all the corporate colours (such as colours used in each of the tube lines)
Full view of wheelchair standback area (2017-08-01)TfL Corporate Archives
Designated wheelchair space
Wheelchair standback, closer to the door for the convenience of a wheelchair using passenger
Moquette design 2 (2021-07-06)TfL Corporate Archives
Comparison of Priority and Standard moquette on the DLR
Slightly different coloured seating fabric is used on standard and priority seats (the seats closer to the doors). This subtly denotes that these priority seats should be offered to those less able to stand on their journey. These seats are closer to the doors and aid easy exit
Priority badge on moquette (2021-07-06)TfL Corporate Archives
A priority badge woven into the seating fabric
An embedded badge with text weaved into the fabric also labels the seats that should be offered to those less able to stand on their journey
Weaving the pattern into the fabric itself, makes it as durable as the rest of the seat
Flooring grooves serve a few purposes on the tube. They're anti slip in wet weather, with the water sinking into the grooves to run down the sides and off the train, preventing accidents. They also provide tactile feedback for visually impaired passengers who use a cane, so that they can get a feeling of where the door is in relation to where they are standing, much like the "tactile paving" we see on road crossings, with the raised dots
These tactile flooring features are also seen on platform edges
Eager for more? Discover our stories about Unlocking London's Underground Network for All, and Accessibility on London's Buses.
Story compiled by TfL using information in records at the Transport for London Corporate Archives and has been illustrate with images taken from the TfL Image Library and photographs taken by the TfL Corporate Archives of design samples.
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.
