A new Tube map design has been launched to honour the contributions of engineers in London, the UK and worldwide.

Transport for London, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the London Transport Museum have collaborated to create a reimagined version of London’s iconic Tube map – which has been released on National Engineering Day.

The new Engineering Icons Tube map sees 274 Tube and Elizabeth line stations named after leading engineers.

The engineering-themed version of the London Underground map, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary, can be viewed at the London Transport Museum and online at the TfL website

The launch marks National Engineering Day, celebrated on November 1, which is a day dedicated to recognising the achievements and contributions of engineers.

The day aims to make engineering more visible and celebrate how engineers improve everyday lives. 

The map was created to encourage and inspire more people to consider engineering as a career.

For National Engineering Day 2023, the Royal Academy of Engineering is running an #EverydayEngineering competition, inviting the public to release their inner engineer by submitting ideas and creations that aim to make daily life more sustainable, and then voting for their favourite shortlisted entry.  

Leading engineers from different fields including transport, defence, entertainment, computing and health have been selected for Tube and Elizabeth line stations on the map, including: 

• Oxford Circus station has been renamed as Harry Beck, who was an electrical draughtsman and created the iconic London Underground Tube map 90 years ago in 1933.
• Shepherd’s Bush has been renamed as Professor Dame Ann Dowling, who was the first female President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and worked on pioneering noise-reduction research on Concorde.
• Uxbridge has been renamed as Dr Gladys West, who was the first woman to receive the Royal Academy of Engineering’s highest individual award, the Prince Philip Medal, for work that paved the way to Global Positioning System.
• Ealing Common station has been renamed after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who is the most celebrated civil engineer of the nineteenth century and was responsible for designing and constructing the Thames Tunnel in London, as well as many other transport projects.
• Warren Street has been renamed as Ada Lovelace who is considered the world’s first computer programmer.

The map has also been created to celebrate the many different ways that engineering shapes lives and to help encourage more people to consider engineering as a career. 

The engineering profession in the UK is experiencing a concerning skills and diversity shortfall. Research shows that almost half (47%) of UK pupils aged between 11 and 19 have not even considered engineering as a potential career.

According to the latest available data, only 16.5% of the UK engineering workforce is made up of women, and black and minority ethnic groups represent around 11.4%.

Hayaatun Sillem, 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.”

Click here to view the new Engineering Icons Tube map.