London Overground has recently given names to its various routes, in a similar fashion to the Underground network.

The lines are:

• Lioness – Between Euston and Watford Junction

• Mildmay – Between Richmond and Clapham to Stratford

• Windrush – Between Highbury & Islington and New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon

• Weaver – Between Liverpool Street and Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Chingford

• Suffragette – Between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside

• Liberty – Between Romford and Upminster

The names remind me somewhat of the names of my old school ‘houses’ when I was at secondary school.  There are the good; the worthy; and the just plain ran out of ideas.

My most frequented Overground line is the Lioness.  Don’t mind that name.

“Gotta dash.  Just catching the Lioness.”

It was the same with my house at school.  Cassio.  Good solid name; meaningful, local connections; something to be proud of.

The Liberty Line, though.  Isn’t that a bit… generic?  Uninspiring.  Again, it was the same at school.  One of our houses was called New.  How can you get behind New?  It’s like trying to whip up enthusiasm for ‘big’ or ‘cold’.

However, credit where credit is due.  Overall, I think the London Overground line names aren’t too bad.  Or, at least, they could be a lot worse.  In a modern, money-talks world, thankfully there is no whiff of commercial sponsorship.  It would be so easy to succumb to the Twitter Line, which would soon afterwards have to be changed to the X Line. 

And, after the Boaty McBoatface fiasco, London Overground perhaps wisely decided not to leave the final choice of the names in the hands of the public.

© Simon Turner-Tree

Simon Turner-Tree rides the Lioness.