London Overground: Mayor Sadiq Khan reveals his favourite line after £6.3m rebranding of train network

The Windrush line, which is displayed arsenic 2 reddish lines connected the recently redrawn Tube map, links Highbury & Islington with New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon. 

The mayor, astatine an authoritative unveiling astatine Dalston Junction station, was joined by peculiar guests with idiosyncratic connections to the Windrush procreation including nutrient entrepreneur Levi Roots, who was calved successful Jamaica and whose parents came to the UK from the Caribbean to physique a caller beingness for themselves and assistance physique Britain.

Also contiguous were vocalist Mica Paris, whose grandparents were Jamaicans and came to the UK connected the HMT Windrush, and Windrush Foundation main enforcement Arthur Torrington.

Mr Khan, asked to sanction a favourite, told The Standard: “For a assortment of reasons it’s the Windrush line.

“Speaking to Arthur Torrington… 1 of my heroes is Mica Paris, and Levi Roots – they’re present today.

“These are children of the Windrush procreation whose names we cognize due to the fact that they are celebrities.

“But determination are galore of the Windrush assemblage who aren’t celebrities – they worked successful London Transport, they worked successful our hospitals. My father’s friends were from that generation, driving buses crossed London. That’s especial due to the fact that it’s personal.

“But I [also] emotion the Lioness line, due to the fact that I was determination astatine Wembley [at the Euro 2022 final], erstwhile we yet won a tournament.

“I’m excessively young to retrieve 1966. The large happening astir [England’s victorious captain] Leah Williamson is that she is lasting connected the feet of the large Bobby Moore. We should observe our success.”

Passengers tin alteration betwixt the Overgound’s antithetic lines and stations, and the London Underground, arsenic before. There is nary alteration to fares zones.

Mr Khan said helium had recovered it “really hard” successful the past, arsenic a southbound Londoner much utilized to the Tube, to navigate the Overground.

“The joyousness of naming these six lines is we tin archer untold stories astir our large city. People volition present cognize astir the publication made by the Windrush procreation and their children, oregon moving people women who campaigned arsenic portion of the Suffragette movement.

“These six lines, each person their ain unsocial stories down them. I’m hoping Londoners, visitors and others volition inquire questions astir our history.”

Mr Khan side-stepped a question astir whether helium had rejected names specified arsenic the Brunel line, saying: “There were tons and tons of truly bully ideas from Londoners. The long, long, agelong database was truly long.

“We spoke to section communities. We spoke to historians. We spoke to experts and past we whittled it down.”

Emma Strain, TfL’s lawsuit director, who oversaw the renaming, said it had been a “really large task” to alteration each the signs.

She said: “I deliberation it is huge, peculiarly for customers who are caller to the Overground oregon don’t usage it each day.

“It’s conscionable similar the Underground present – you person got a enactment sanction and a enactment colour. Once radical get utilized to it, it volition beryllium a overmuch easier mode to navigate.”

She chose the Mildmay enactment arsenic her favourite. “I’m truly arrogant of the [new names]. I deliberation they enactment truly good arsenic a set, and volition soon go embedded.

“But, similar the names of everything, similar naming children, not everyone agrees. I don’t deliberation we could ever prime names that everybody would person loved. But they archer immoderate large stories astir London.”

Asked wherefore Mildmay was her favourite, Ms Strain said: “I emotion the communicative down it. When we acceptable up this project, it was each astir discovering untold stories.

“The Mildmay Hospital story is wonderful. They enactment they person done since they were formed. The enactment they person done since the 1980s, supporting Aids patients. “The enactment they did during covid, supporting the homeless.

“It’s a fantastic communicative of a fantastic hospital, and present it has been brought to beingness done the enactment names.”