A new national clock design for Britain’s railways has been created for the first time in over 50 years.
Network Rail launched the new design at London Bridge station on Thursday by unveiling a 1.8-metre diameter digital clock.
The new timepiece features the railways’ double arrow motif integrated into the clock face.
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The design by Design Bridge and Partners was selected from over 100 entries to an international design competition run in a partnership between Network Rail and the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Design Museum.
The clock has been created to be easy to read on the move and in consultation with accessibility experts.
It will also appear in digital form on departure boards at several other Network Rail-managed stations, including London Waterloo, London Victoria and London Charing Cross station.
Network Rail’s professional head of buildings and architecture Anthony Dewar said: “A clock is the first thing people look for when they arrive at a station.
“The railway is driven by time, being on time is our promise to passengers, and clocks have always provided landmarks for people to meet at and use to navigate their way around stations.
“This design provides a proud and eye-catching centrepiece and acts as a brilliant reminder of the new journey we’re about to undertake together.”
Rail minister Lord Hendy said: “British ingenuity and passion are the foundations of the railway, from the very first passenger service 200 years ago to the millions of rail journeys now taken every day.
“This clock represents a bridge between the historic past and a new future for our railways.”
Mark Wood, creative partner at agency Design Bridge and Partners, which produced the design, said seeing it come to life is “immensely rewarding” and expressed hope it “becomes the face of time across the railway for many years to come”.
The last national clock design for Britain’s railways was created as part of British Rail’s 1974 design manual.
Since privatisation in 1996, the network has displayed clocks with many different designs.
