Railways get first national clock design in 51 years

A new national clock design for Britain’s railways has been created for the first time in more than half a century.

Network Rail launched the design by unveiling a 1.8-metre diameter digital clock at London Bridge station on Thursday.

The blueprint was selected out of more than 100 competition entries.

It will also appear in digital form on departure boards at major stations across the network.

The design has the railways’ double arrow motif integrated into the clock face.

It was created in consultation with accessibility experts to ensure more people will be able to know the time from looking at it.

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.