A brand new chapter in Britain’s railway story has been marked with the disclosing of Rail Clock, which is the nation’s first nationwide clock design in additional than half a century.
Revealed at the moment (16 October) at London Bridge station, the placing new timepiece by Design Bridge and Companions is ready to develop into a landmark of British design and a strong image of connection throughout the UK’s rail community.
Commissioned by Community Rail to coincide with the railway’s 2 hundredth anniversary in 2025, the venture aimed to create a standardised clock that would unify the passenger expertise throughout the nation whereas celebrating the wealthy heritage of British rail design. The result’s a 1.8-metre bodily and digital timepiece that fuses timeless symbolism with fashionable performance, and reimagines one of many nation’s most recognisable icons within the course of.
The clock was chosen because the successful entry in a global design competitors run in partnership with RIBA and the Design Museum, and is already being hailed as a future basic. “We’re extremely proud to have gained the ‘Timepiece for the Railway’ competitors,” says Mark Wooden, artistic accomplice at Design Bridge and Companions. “Our ambition was to create a brand new icon of British design that creates lasting influence, and we hope Rail Clock turns into the face of time throughout the railway for a few years to come back.”
On the coronary heart of the design is a reimagining of the double arrow image, which some may recognise as a model of the enduring graphic created by Gerry Barney in 1965 that’s nonetheless used throughout Britain’s railways at the moment. The motif is dynamically built-in into the clock face, its two halves travelling in opposing instructions and converging exactly each 30 seconds. It is a delicate but highly effective metaphor for the ebb and move of journeys throughout the nation, and the hundreds of thousands of connections made on the railways each day.
“In 1965, it was fantastic to win the competitors to design the image of our railway,” says Gerry. “Now in 2025, I am thrilled to see the successful entry that continues to have a good time it in a brand new timepiece for future generations of rail passengers to take pleasure in – what Design Bridge and Companions have created is actually magic.”
Perform and accessibility have been simply as central to the transient as type. A daring 24-hour show makes use of an up to date model of Rail Alphabet 2, initially designed by Margaret Calvert and digitised by Henrik Kubel, whereas session with accessibility consultants ensured the design is simple to learn and intuitive for all customers.
“We have been in search of one thing distinctive,” says Margaret, who was a part of the competitors jury. “And the end result is an accessible piece of design that is made for everybody who makes use of the railway.”
Past its visible enchantment, Rail Clock is designed to be deeply useful and versatile. It should function not solely as a bodily landmark in stations but in addition as a part of a brand new technology of Buyer Info Screens (CIS) rolling out throughout Community Rail-managed stations. Its design will be tailored for any digital format – from smartphones to smartwatches – and can quickly be out there to the general public as a watch face through Android app shops.
A pop-up store from the Design Museum can be celebrating the launch with unique merchandise impressed by Britain’s railway heritage, out there at London Bridge station and on-line. The launch of Rail Clock additionally coincides with a interval of serious transformation for Britain’s railways as they transfer in direction of a extra built-in and passenger-focused future.
“200 years after the primary railway opened in Britain, we’re about to embark on a brand new journey as a railway, placing passengers first,” says Anthony Dewar of Community Rail. “A clock is the very first thing individuals search for after they arrive at a station. The railway is pushed by time – being ‘on time’ is our promise to passengers – and clocks have at all times offered landmarks for individuals to satisfy at and navigate their approach round stations.”
Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy says: “British ingenuity and fervour are the foundations of the railway, from the very first passenger service 200 years in the past to the hundreds of thousands of rail journeys now taken each day.
“This clock represents a bridge between the historic previous and a brand new future for our railways — an built-in railway community that is extra dependable, constant, environment friendly and accountable.”
Design Bridge and Companions explains how that sense of continuity was key. “Our partnership with Community Rail, RIBA and the Design Museum has been extremely collaborative, and seeing Rail Clock come to life is immensely rewarding,” says Kevin Lan, artistic director. “We wished to create one thing that honours the legacy of British rail design whereas shaping its future.”
As Britain’s railways put together to have a good time 200 years of motion, Rail Clock is a well timed reminder that design, just like the community itself, is at all times evolving. It is a new face for British time that is each rooted previously however trying firmly to the longer term.
