The font was designed specifically for signage and the designers included features to support this such as a bespoke letter-spacing system and two slightly different weights to provide optimum visibility on both light and dark backgrounds. The font also has some similarities to Akzidenz-Grotesk, which had earlier provided the same designers the broad inspiration for the Transport typeface used for road signs in the United Kingdom.

Rail Alphabet is similar to a bold weight of Helvetica, but with some differences in character shapes, stroke width and x-height to aid legibility. First used at Liverpool Street station, it was then adopted by the Design Research Unit as part of their comprehensive 1965 rebranding of the company.Ī modernised font Rail Alphabet 2 is planned to be used across the Great British Railways network, whilst the BR 'double arrow' logo will also be restored as the primary brand identifier for the network. Its replacement was a spindly, all-upper case italicised typeface, which lacked the authority of Rail Alphabet and now looks a lot more dated. Rail Alphabet is a typeface designed by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert for signage on the British Rail network.

Rail Alphabet Font