‘We need trains that run on time, not a woke history lesson’: Commuters slam Sadiq Khan’s ‘shamelessly political’ £6million revamp of London Overground lines to give them names like ‘Suffragette’ and ‘Lioness’

Sadiq Khan today faced a furious backlash from outraged commuters and MPs who branded his £6.3million revamp of the London Overground ‘predictable woke liberal nonsense’.

Under the bizarre project – which comes in the election year, with commuters facing increasing crime, delays and strike action – rail lines will be given individual colours and names including Lioness, Mildmay, Windrush, Weaver, Suffragette and Liberty.

The Mayor today defended his project and suggested it would save passengers from ‘nightmare’ journeys – but Tories quickly slammed the ‘virtue signalling nonsense’.

Susan Hall, Mr Khan’s Conservative opponent in May’s mayoral election, told MailOnline today: ‘1,000 people have been killed under his Mayoralty, and yet Sadiq Khan is only interested in this virtue signalling nonsense. The only surprise from today’s announcement is that he hasn’t named one of them the Sadiq line.’

Ex-minister Paul Scully, Tory MP for Sutton and Cheam, told MailOnline: ‘Londoners just want a Mayor who can get them from A to B on time, at reasonable cost and in a degree of comfort, not just spraying a word cloud of virtue signalling at a cost of £6m of taxpayers’ money.

‘If he insists on renaming lines, he could have looked at sponsorship which would inject much-needed investment. But either way, at a time that we’re hearing about TfL’s delays to replacing old train stock, he’s just putting a new lick of paint over a creaking transport system rather than doing the job Londoners expect.’

And Tory MP Bob Blackman told MailOnline: ‘Another woke idea from a mayor who becomes more ridiculous every day.’

Further critics highlighted the cost given Transport for London (TfL) had been on the verge of bankruptcy before securing last-minute Government funding, and how Tube crime has soared by 56 per cent fuelled by a surge in thefts and robberies. 

The announcement also comes four days before a major Overground strike will hit services from next Monday – and in the context on ongoing Underground chaos on the Central line due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

The Mayor said today that the cash was ‘within the TfL budget already set aside’, and the change would make it ‘really easy’ to get across the 113 Overground stations.

He also said there had been much consultation and ‘not everybody is going to be happy, but we think we’ve managed to please most people which is really important.’

Mr Khan, who is standing for re-election on May 2, caused fury with his Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) expansion last August – and is now battling for votes with his recent decisions to freeze Tube fares and make Fridays off-peak from next month.

But the Conservatives said naming rights given to companies would have earned TfL tens of millions of pounds which could have been invested in the beleaguered Central line – and this was just ‘a new lick of paint over a creaking transport system’. 

Also today, there was no Overground between Barking and Barking Riverside due to vandalism, as well as delays on the Piccadilly line due to a signal failure at King’s Cross St Pancras and on the Hammersmith and City line due to cancellations.

Overground lines have all been orange since the network was created in 2007 when TfL took control of services on four suburban rail lines.

The decision to rename the lines received a muted response from those using it this morning, with many asking if the money could have been better used on other things.

Marcella Cattaross, who lives in Olympia, said the £6.3million price tag ‘doesn’t make sense’.

The 66-year-old said: ‘Considering they are always putting up the prices and they say the government doesn’t give them enough money.

‘I would rather see the money spent on keeping fares down, especially.

‘I have never found the overground confusing. I use to take it to work everyday and I still go to visit friends and I always use the overground. Sometimes I think about how we did it before.

‘I don’t see the point in renaming it. Spending all that money! Must be spent on something else.’

Lisa Pugh, who lives in Surrey and often travels into Shepherds Bush on the Overground, said: ‘I don’t understand why its cost over £6million to be honest just to rename something that feels like someone in an office could have easily just done that. Do you know why it costs that much?

‘Especially when you think in 20 years time they might just redo it again.’

She added that she thought the network was already ‘very straight forward’.

David Moyse, a salesman who lives near Clapham Junction, said he thought ‘the intention is good but I’m not entirely sure how it can cost so much money.’

The 21-year-old added: ‘[I’m] not sure what they might spend it on seems quite an inefficient way to reach a positive end goal. Wish they would just reduce fares instead – we were just talking about how expensive the trains are at the moment.’

Diane and Ed Stanley, who live in Purley and travel on the line to Kings Cross, said they thought it was a ‘total, total wast of money’.

Ed said: ‘Why do this? I’m sure we could use that money on the NHS surely.’

Diane added: ‘Our kids still commute to London but the price is so expensive and people are crowded inside carriages. 

‘You go to France or Germany and you get a decent return for your money so they should invest in better services or pricing.

‘Total waste of money renaming something!’

Passengers waiting to alight the London Overground at Stratford – soon to be renamed the Mildmay line – condemned the £6.3m rebranding.

Hugh Griffiths, 64, a construction worker from Plaistow, told MailOnline: ‘I think it’s a complete waste of money.

‘Surely there are better ways for the mayor to spend our money.

‘Why doesn’t he put down the price of bus and train fares instead?

‘At the end of the day it’s not his money, it’s ours!’

Ann-Lorraine Voyce, 56, from Dagenham, said: ‘I don’t think they should change the name of the Overground. What use would that be?

‘Surely there are better ways to spend the money.’

Retired plasterer Francis Faulkener, 63, from Stratford, added: ‘How does changing the name of a train line make the service any better?

‘This is just a pathetic waste of money.

‘What we all want a better service, where the trains run on time and there are enough seats, not a load of poxy new names!’

The network has expanded significantly since 2007, creating what has been called a ‘mass of orange spaghetti’ on maps, making it difficult for some passengers to work out what train they need. TfL claims the overhaul will now ‘make it easier to navigate.’

Speaking from Highbury and Islington station in North London this morning, Mr Khan told Sky News: ‘The money for rebranding these six lines is within the TfL budget already set aside.

‘We speak to customers every day who find it a nightmare getting across these 113 stations across these six separate lines. They are all called London Overground, all have the orange colour.

‘You’ll recognise from this great city of ours, we’ve got 12 Tube lines with distinct names, distinct colours, we’ve got the Elizabeth line.

‘But these six particular lines are quite confusing – how do you get from Liverpool Street to White Hart Lane. How do you get from Croydon to Enfield? It’s the same colour line, 113 stations, and it’s a nightmare.

‘So what we’ve done is, we’ve engaged with customers, with local communities, with industry experts, with historians, and announced today six brilliant new names for these six distinct lines that will make it much easier for commuters to get across our great city.’

He added that TfL was ‘helping those who are visually impaired to get themselves around our city’ and described wayfinding as a ‘big challenge’.

Mr Khan continued: ‘The challenge is how you get around our fantastic stations and public transport network. We also know we are a city that has the largest number of tourists in the world. How do tourists get around our great city?

‘So it’s been a long process, we’ve been engaging with customers, communities, people across our city. We’ve announced the six names today. Not everybody is going to be happy, but we think we’ve managed to please most people which is really important.’

Each route will be represented on Tube maps as parallel lines in different colours – which will require one of the biggest changes in the history of the famous diagram.

But Ms Hall said: ‘The Central line is in a terrible state, TfL is wasting money left, right and centre, crime on the Tube is soaring, and Sadiq Khan is ignoring all of this to focus on his own PR. I will listen to Londoners, fix the problems with TfL and get a grip of crime.’

And the City Hall Conservatives transport spokesman Keith Prince told MailOnline: ‘This is a wasted opportunity. 

‘Sadiq Khan and TfL could have earned tens of millions of pounds by offering naming rights to Overground train lines. 

‘This money could have been invested in much needed upgrades to Central Line trains and other infrastructure.

‘Sadiq Khan’s priorities as Chairman of TfL are all wrong. Londoners are more concerned about the daily chaos across the Tube network including long delays on the Central Line and disruption on the Elizabeth Line. 

‘They are very concerned about how they will get to and from work next week when the RMT strikes for four days – a record 140th TfL strike under Sadiq Khan’s watch. 

‘This Mayor prefers to make shiny announcements rather than do the hard yards. Londoners must vote Sadiq Khan out on May 2 and elect Susan Hall as Mayor.’

The most recent major naming of a rail line in London was the Elizabeth line after Queen Elizabeth II, which opened in May 2022 before her death that September.

The names and colours for London Overground lines will be:

• The Lioness line between Euston and Watford Junction (yellow): This honours the England women’s football team winning Euro 2022 at Wembley, which is on the line.
• The Mildmay line between Stratford and Richmond/Clapham Junction (blue): The Mildmay Mission Hospital in Shoreditch specialises in treating patients with HIV-related illnesses.
• The Windrush line between Highbury & Islington and Clapham Junction/New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon (red): The name honours the Windrush generation, who came to the UK from the Caribbean to fill labour shortages after the Second World War. The line runs through areas with communities linked to the Caribbean.
• The Weaver line between Liverpool Street and Cheshunt/Enfield Town/Chingford (maroon): The line runs through areas known for the textile trade.
• The Suffragette line between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside (green): This is in tribute to the movement that fought for votes for women. Barking was home to suffragette Annie Huggett, who lived to 103.
• The Liberty line between Romford and Upminster (grey): This celebrates how Havering, which the line runs through, historically had more self-governance through being a royal liberty.

The changes are estimated to cost £6.3 million, which will be paid for out of Mr Khan’s Greater London Authority budget.

The majority of this will go towards updating customer information such as redesigning and redisplaying maps across all Tube and London Overground stations, and issuing new versions in print and online.

Public address announcements will be re-recorded and around 6,000 station direction signs will be updated.

The rebranding will be rolled out over a week in the autumn.

It comes a year after reports that TfL had ring fenced £4million for the project in its budget for the latest financial year. 

TfL previously commissioned research, carried out by agency DNCO at a cost of £115,000, which established customers found the Overground network confusing and would find it easier to navigate if it was not a single colour and name, reported the Evening Standard. 

John Bull, editor of transport website London Reconnections, said giving the lines names and colours is ‘an overdue change’.

He added: ‘One of the real benefits that the Overground has brought is the ability to drive traffic that isn’t local to interesting places in Zone 2, Zone 3 and beyond.

‘But if it’s not a familiar journey you can’t just say ‘I’m going to get on the orange line’. You have to know how they interconnect.’

Mr Bull predicted that ‘people will grumble and moan about the names’ but that has happened for ‘every single line that has been given a name over the years’.

He added: ‘Frankly, it’s nice to have some stuff that represents things that have changed the lives of Londoners, among the references to queens that have tended to accrue up until now.’

Mr Khan described the changes as a ‘hugely exciting moment, transforming how we think about London’s transport network’.

He continued: ‘Giving each of the Overground lines distinct colours and identities will make it simpler and easier for passengers to get around.

‘In reimagining London’s tube map, we are also honouring and celebrating different parts of London’s unique local history and culture.

‘The new names and colours have been chosen through engagement with passengers, historians and local communities, reflecting the heritage and diversity of our amazing city.’

Andy Lord, London’s transport commissioner, said: ‘The London Overground is one of the most successful railways in the country and has grown to carry more than three million customers a week.

‘The network – which has grown quite considerably since 2007 – is currently shown as a complicated network of orange on maps.

‘This can be confusing for customers less familiar with the network and could be a barrier for some wanting to use the London Overground.

‘These new names and line colours will simplify the maps and routes for our customers, and it is hoped it will encourage more people to make the most of our services.

‘It is also a great way to tell the stories of some important parts of London’s cultural diversity.’

It comes ahead of an Overground strike on Monday and Tuesday next week by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.

RMT members, who are employed by Arriva Rail London and operate the Overground on TfL’s behalf, plan to strike on both days.

All Overground routes will run, but some will have reduced operating hours.

No service is expected before 8am or after 6pm on the routes of Gospel Oak to Barking (the new Suffragette line); Stratford to Richmond/Clapham Junction (the new Mildmay line); and Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction/West Croydon/Crystal Palace/New Cross (the new Windrush line). 

TfL said customers travelling on those routes are advised to consider alternative routes, allow extra time for their journey and to check before they travel.

A number of stations will be closed and Overground services will not stop there – these being Haggerston, Hoxton, Rotherhithe, Shadwell, Shoreditch High Street and Wapping.

Trish Ashton, TfL’s director of rail and sponsored services, said: ‘Strikes are never good news for our customers, and we urge the RMT and Arriva Rail London to work together to try to come to a resolution.

‘Customers planning to use London Overground services are urged to check before they travel, allow extra time for their journeys, and check the TfL website or the TfL Go app for the latest travel information.’

This will be the first of two 48-hour strikes by the RMT union over pay. Further strike action is also planned on Monday, March 4 and Tuesday, March 5.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘London Overground workers do an important job delivering services for Transport for London and supporting passengers on journeys throughout London.

‘Our members are furious that they have been given a below inflation pay offer and want to see an improvement that represents the value they bring to the company.

‘If this dispute cannot be resolved then RMT is more than prepared for a sustained period of industrial action to get London Overground workers the pay rise they deserve.’

Meanwhile train drivers at five operators have voted to continue strike action for six months in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

Aslef announced that its members on Chiltern, c2c, East Midlands, Northern and TransPennine railways had backed carrying on with action.

Aslef has also announced a separate one-day strike on March 1 and three-day overtime ban from February 29 for Northern and LNER drivers.

Just one week ago, UK rail services returned to normal on February 7 after a wave of strikes and other forms of industrial action by Aslef train drivers in their dispute.