A new design of station clock which includes the railway’s double arrows and the time in digital format has been unveiled at London Bridge station.

The London timepiece by WPP brand design agency Design Bridge and Partners was the winning entry in an international design competition run in a partnership between Network Rail, the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Design Museum.

There were more than 100 entries, and Design Bridge and Partners’ entry was chosen as it works as a physical and digital timepiece, while reflecting the design and brand traditions of the railway and, most importantly, making it easy to know what the time is on a busy station.

The 1.8m clock at London Bridge will also appear in digital form on departure boards. It is appearing at several other Network Rail-managed stations today, including three more in London at Waterloo, Victoria and Charing Cross, and will later become available as an Android app for the public to enjoy. 

Rail Clock was created with advice from accessibility experts, using easily-read numbers in a slightly amended version of the railway’s own lettering, Rail Alphabet 2. The famous railway double arrow logo splits and travels round the rim of the clock every 60 seconds, giving a ‘calm centrepiece’ to bustling stations. 

Margaret Calvert designed the original Rail Alphabet for British Rail with her colleague Jock Kinneir in the mid-1960s, and has also been responsible for Rail Alphabet 2, which is set to become the signature lettering on Great British Railways and is already used on many National Rail stations.

Both Margaret and double arrows creator Gerry Barney were consulted during the creation of the new Rail Clock, and Margaret was also one of the judges in the competition. She said: ‘We were looking for something exceptional. And the outcome is an accessible piece of design that's made for everyone who uses the railway.’

Gerry Barney had made the first sketch of British Rail’s arrows while he was travelling to work on the London Underground.

He recalls: ‘In 1965, It was wonderful to win the competition to design the symbol of our railway: ‘The Double Arrow’. Now in 2025, I’m thrilled to see the winning entry that continues to celebrate it in a new timepiece for future generations of rail passengers to enjoy – What Design Bridge and Partners have created is really magic.’

Mark Wood is creative partner at Design Bridge and Partners. He said: ‘We are incredibly proud to have won the “Timepiece for the Railway” competition. Our partnership with Network Rail, RIBA and the Design Museum has been highly collaborative, and seeing Rail Clock come to life is immensely rewarding. Our ambition was to create a new icon of British design that creates lasting impact, and we hope Rail Clock becomes the face of time across the railway for many years to come.’

Rail minister Lord Peter Hendy added: ‘British ingenuity and passion are the foundations of the railway, from the very first passenger service 200 years ago to the millions of rail journeys now taken every day. This clock represents a bridge between the historic past and a new future for our railways.

‘As part of our Plan for Change, this Government will create an integrated railway network that’s more reliable, consistent, efficient and accountable, thus delivering growth, jobs and homes. Good design, like this brilliant, clever timepiece, is a fundamental part of achieving this.’

London Bridge was home to the second electrically-controlled railway clock in the world in 1852. It was linked to a master clock at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. 

What do you think? Click here to let us know.