This Beautiful Wall Art Shows When Your City’s Trains Are Breaking Down In Real Time

If there’s one word to describe New York City’s subway system, it’s impossible (at least, that’s PG’s way of describing New York’s MTA. a terrible inconsistency). New York’s subways are the heartbeat of the city, always suffering from clogged arteries. Given all that, I can’t stop thinking about the beauty of analog Metroboard, a $229 lighting infrastructure infographic designed by a small team of Los Angeles artists. It might be the best way to let me know if my morning commute is interrupted.

Metroboard is a Christmas tree for metropolitan infrastructure, like a switchboard that you can hang on your wall or sit upright on your desk. Includes various lines and stations along with regular subway maps for several major US cities. As the day draws to a close, you’ll see those lights turn off for late afternoon. During rush hour, the Metroboard is a kaleidoscope of flashing lights as the staff rush to their offices, praying to the MTA gods that a tree doesn’t fall onto the tracks ahead (it happens more often than you think).

It’s powered by a single USB-C cable, and you’ll need to connect it to your home internet to get real-time information from the various cities’ transport authorities. Small studio Design Rules Company presents maps of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Boston, and the Bay Area.

It is a walnut frame with an all-aluminum face and holes for mounting various LED lights. Once you’ve connected it to your home WiFi, it’s a handy design, although you can still control whether the LEDs show up in color or solid white. You can also configure the brightness of the lights and set whether you want to see trains on the route or only at the station.

Artists Kirill Safin and Emily Perkins lead the design team. The two told Fast company the art was inspired by a cross-country train trip where they rode the subway systems of six cities on offer. The idea was to show these cities as “really alive,” where each light is not just a train but represents the tens or hundreds of thousands of passengers who ride on those cars, day after day.

Without any delay, Design Rules Company expects to launch Metroboard this September. The group wrote that those who place a $3 reservation should receive $80 on their first order. Those who pre-order can get it for $189, but the full price is $229 after launch.

The team told Fast Company that they hope to expand to non-American rail systems like the London tube. I personally ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​front. Maybe I can look at it with equal parts envy and respect after my MTA app gives me a summary of how every train I need to take is delayed—and not for the first time this month.