Khan renames Overground in homage to multiculturalism

Sadiq Khan has been accused of “virtue signaling nonsense” after renaming his London Overground lines in a tribute to multiculturalism and feminism.

The Mayor of London announced on Thursday that the overground network’s 103 miles of interconnecting routes, currently marked in orange on transport maps, will be split into six new identities.

The new names of the series are Lioness, Windrush, Suffragette, Weaver, Liberty and Mildmay; the latest is a tribute to a specialist HIV hospital in Shoreditch.

As well as honoring the England women’s football team, the Caribbean cruise ship Empire Windrush and the women’s suffrage movement of the 1920s, the new lines also commemorate lesser-known aspects of the capital’s history.

The Weaver Line takes its name from the “areas of London known for its textile trade”, running through Liverpool Street, Spitalfields and Bethnal Green, and the Liberty Line “celebrates the east London borough of Havering, which has historically enjoyed greater self-government as a city.” Royal freedom according to TfL.

New colors will be used as the Overground is divided into individually named networks. Each will have a white line running through the middle to distinguish it from Tube lines that use solid colors.

The rebranding, estimated to cost £6.3 million, is expected to make it easier to navigate the overground network, but critics say Mr Khan is pulling a “pointless gimmick”.

Mr Khan described the renaming of the rows as “an extremely exciting moment”.

“As we redesign London’s tube map, we are also honoring and celebrating different parts of London’s unique local history and culture,” he said.

But critics branded the move as “virtue signaling”, “patronising” and a “pointless gimmick”.

Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate in this year’s London mayoral election, said the rebranding was “virtue signaling nonsense” and added: “The only surprise in today’s announcement is that they didn’t name one of them the Sadiq Line.”

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Lord Frost said: “London tradition is to give public transport lines a name that relates either to a royal connection or to the geography of the line.

“Whether you agree with the politics or not, giving them political names is a break from this tradition. This is part of the general forced politicization of many aspects of our daily lives today.

“Of course nothing better could be expected from Sadiq Khan and his appalling mismanagement of TfL and London.”

Former minister Mark Francois echoed Ms Hall’s Sadiq Line suggestion, playfully adding that her slogan should be “unreliable, extremely expensive and won’t go anywhere”.

“This is classic Sadiq; It’s yet another pointless ploy to make up for a floundering mayoralty,” said Islington-born Conservative MP Mr Francois.

Keith Prince, the Town Hall Conservatives’ transport spokesman, said the mayor had squandered a “significant” opportunity to generate much-needed money for Transport for London (TfL).

“Sadiq Khan and TfL could make tens of millions of pounds by offering naming rights to Overground rail lines,” he said.

Meanwhile, Robert Colvile, director of the Center for Policy Studies think tank, called the practice “simultaneously condescending and bizarre.”

Prof Jeremy Black, of the University of Exeter, accused Mr Khan of politicizing the railways.

“Khan is politicizing history in an undesirable way,” the professor said.

“Why would we name a railway line Windrush? Empire Windrush was a ship. “This is crazy,” he said.

“What is the purpose of using the word women’s rights defender? Is he arguing that this is to show that violent suffrage movements are acceptable? What point is he trying to make?

Transport for London said: “This significant change, which will include a major update to London’s world-famous Underground map, will make it easier for customers to navigate London’s transport network while also celebrating the city’s diverse culture and history.”

The overground network was established in 2007 when TfL took over the privatized Silverlink Metro train operation on four suburban lines around the capital. Since then it has gradually expanded into what some have called an “orange spaghetti mass”, covering 112 stations in a ring around the capital.

John Bull, editor of transport website London Reconnections, said naming and coloring the lines was “a change that is long overdue”.

He said: “One of the real benefits that Overground brings is the ability to drive non-local traffic to interesting destinations in Zone 2, Zone 3 and beyond.

“But if it’s not a familiar ride, you can’t say, ‘I’ll take the orange line.’ “You have to know how they connect.”