This is a map of the local train network of Ortenau (the German county next to Strasbourg in France) as it appears on the train itself. As you can see, it runs trains into France too.

While I very much appreciate the network (access to the Black Forest, Offenburg, etc., from France, where I live) the map has always annoyed me, but I can’t figure out exactly why. What are your thoughts?

Transit Maps says:

There are plenty of minor problems with this map that certainly add up to an “annoying” level, to use Neil’s words. The garish zone colours, uninspired typography, logos slapped on everywhere with white boxes behind them, the differently-sized and coloured station ticks (why?)… it’s all a bit of a slap-dash, random affair.

My biggest gripe, however, is that it doesn’t really give you any idea of how the network actually works. Can you catch a train from Offenburg directly to Ottenhöfen? Do different routes overlap to increase service frequency in a corridor? From what I can see from a quick look at the OSB website, there are seven routes in the network, with five using Offenburg as a terminus and with two more acting as connecting branch lines (Biberach to Oberharmersbach-Riersbach, and Achern to Ottenhöfen). It’s a relatively simple network to depict and showing it in full would really add to the utility of this map.  There aren’t any OSB trains that run through Offenburg to a destination on the other side, so it’s not possible to get from Achern to Hausach on a single train, for example. (Of course, this being Germany, there’s almost certainly a Deutsche Bahn RE train that can do that, but those services seems to be outside the scope of this map.)

On a side note, I remember waiting for what seemed like ages for a train from Offenburg to Strasbourg back on a freezing cold day in early 2004. Brrrrrrr!

Our final word: Not particularly well executed, and not showing individual routes really limits its usefulness. 2 stars.