An astonishing transport visualization from Simulcra – urban modellers at CASA, the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London.
The time-lapse animation uses timetable information to map out train, coach, tram, tube, ferry and air trips around England, Scotland and Wales over a typical weekday in 2009. Each second of in the video represents about 7 minutes in real life. Different modes of transport are colour-coded as shown by the symbols top left.
As you might expect, in the early hours there’s very little traffic, even in metropolitan areas. But by seven in the morning the entrie country is alight. Most striking of all is the way London dominates, sucking in everything around it.
The newly launched Simulcra blog provides some background to the visualization, also links to two other videos based on the same data: a stripped down version with just bus movements, another focusing on London’s transport network.
