A new chapter in British railway design began on Thursday as the first Great British Railways station clock was unveiled at London Bridge.
The striking 1.8-metre digital timepiece, hanging above the main concourse, marks the first new standard railway clock design in more than 50 years.
The black-and-red face draws inspiration from the iconic British Rail double-arrow logo.
Rail minister, Peter Hendy said the design “represents a bridge between the historic past and a new future for our railways.”
The clock will soon appear in digital form on information boards at stations across the country.
The launch at London Bridge holds historical significance. In 1852, the station became one of the first to receive an electronic clock connected by telegraph to Greenwich Observatory, part of the system that created Britain’s first unified national time zone.
Chosen through an international design competition, the new clock was created by Design Bridge and Partners.
Creative partner Mark Wood said the team wanted it to become “the face of time across the railway for many years to come.”
The clock shows only hours and minutes in numerals, while the famous double-arrow logo moves around the face to represent seconds , a nod to the constant movement of trains.
Network Rail chief executive, Andrew Haines assured passengers that full seconds will still appear on platform clocks, saying, “There was no way I was having a clock without seconds.”
Gerry Barney, designer of the original British Rail logo, praised the new creation as really magic, while rail historian Tim Dunn admitted the design moved him to tears.
The clock’s face will also feature on smartwatch apps and merchandise, with Hendy calling it a clever, brilliant timepiece that embodies the vision of a unified national railway once again.
