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Amazing illustration details the busiest tubes in London through the day

Graphic shows when the 'heartbeat' of the city pulses most

Amazing illustration details the busiest tubes in London through the day
Danielle de Wolfe
01 September 2016

A new fun way to conceive of the hell that is the London Underground at rush hour is as a clotting artery about to burst and kill the entire. Oliver O'Brien, a researcher at UCL, took data from TfL to find which parts of the day see the most people stuffed into tiny carriages, barely able to breath, and made it into a weirdly calming visualisation he has called the Tube Heartbeat.

via GIPHY

The city's 'pulse' is most active from 8:15-8:30 and 17:00-17:15, but you can find the specific times for each individual station - ideal if you've ever wanted to know if you were better off leaving earlier or later for work - or if you're someone that loves being elbowed in the head and feel you were down on your quota for the month.

Like watching rain from the window of public transport, there's a relaxing element to seeing the graphic ebb and flow. Get yourself a comfy seat, fire up O'Brien's website and think about all the poor, stressed commuters wedged against one another, furiously avoiding eye contact and inhaling each other's putrid stench. Bliss.