Automatic Metro Map Design Techniques

We describe a computer-based system to automatically lay out metro maps using multicriteria optimization. The starting layout for the method is the geographic layout or a sketch of the map. The system attempts to improve this layout. It measures the map by calculating a number of criteria. These criteria are weighted and summed together: stations are moved if the sum of the weighted criteria is reduced. An iteration of the method consists of attempting to move each station in the map. There are several enhancements to the method: stations are placed on an grid, a clustering algorithm is used to find groups of stations that can be moved together, and labelling of stations is performed with a number of additional criteria. Example results using real-world metro maps look promising.