Template talk:Routemap

Is there a way to provide Alt text for an entire routemap?

I'm using this template in the Nile article, and I'd like to provide Alt text for visually impaired readers ... not per icon, but a single Alt text description that summarizes the full routemap. I see that cryptic icon names are displayed when the mouse is over icons... ignoring those: is there a way to display Alt text when the mouse is in the background of the routemap? I see there was a discussion on accessibility in 2024, but that was focusing on other aspects of accessibility. Noleander (talk) 23:52, 6 April 2026 (UTC)

Template-protected edit request on 16 July 2026

Please add z-index: 1 to the definition of the RMov class as follows. Currently, the stacking order of overlapping icon images is incorrect in dark mode owing to the application of a CSS filter on images in dark mode. This should fix that (tested with Template:Overground RDT).

.RMir .RMov {
	position: relative;
	z-index: 1;
}

Additionally, to ensure fade mask icons render correctly in dark mode (tested with Template:South Ferry (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)), please add the following CSS (unmodified code omitted).

@media screen {

	(...)

	html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .RMbox img[src*="MFADE"],
	html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .RMinline img[src*="MFADE"] {
		filter: brightness(0.08);
	}
}

@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {

	(...)

	html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .RMbox img[src*="MFADE"],
	html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .RMinline img[src*="MFADE"] {
		filter: brightness(0.08);
	}
}

My template editor permissions were removed due to inactivity so I cannot edit the code myself. Jc86035 (talk) 16:41, 16 July 2026 (UTC)

Duplicate parameters

I just encountered an issue where the references in |footnote= were suppressed because |bottom= was also set. Can we set up a warning and tracking category to identify situations where both are provided? Mackensen (talk) 11:58, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

 Done. Affected articles will be placed in Category:Pages using Module:Routemap with conflicting parameters, and a red preview message will show when editing Routemap templates with conflicting parameters. I tested it at Oyster Bay Branch. – Jonesey95 (talk) 21:18, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

@Jonesey95 wonderful, thank you! Mackensen (talk) 21:29, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

I don't understand

How do I add a reception track mechanism? As in, Nishi-magome Station has an overrun track that leads you to Magome Depot. Honestly, I don't know how to draw such thing. I can only do it on paper, which is private and is therefore kinda useless. Could you guys help me? SH360! (Must edit! Must report!) 01:23, 16 August 2026 (UTC)

Accessibility: and, time for an RfC?

I've been reading a lot of RDTs lately and given how common they are I feel they should be a lot more accessible than they are. Just looking at MOS:ACCESS:

• Colour is used as the sole distinguisher between open and closed lines, tunnels etc
• Text seems to be frequently overlapping each other and small text font size is below 85% of default
• No alt text is available for any icons
• It doesn't work with text readers

From an editor's point of view, the code is also baffling and doesn't exactly lend itself to anyone being able to contribute.

I can see this has all been raised before but with little engagement. Time for an RfC? Xii Xii 14:30, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

What alt text do you want? Consider  (BHF) which is used frequently: "A red disc superimposed on a red vertical line", perhaps? How often is a screen reader user willing to hear that before skipping on to something else? --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 18:51, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

Could they not say 'major stop', 'minor stop', etc? Alt text is about conveying the meaning so that people using screen readers are provided an equal experience to everyone else. Perhaps, as @Noleander suggested, a single alt desc would be more practical? Or even an addition to the docs that a prose route description should always be included in the main article alongside the diagram.

My worry is, as it stands: if you are visually impaired, dyslexic, colourblind, there is no accessible way for you to read about the route in most articles as they rely soley on the RDT, or have the route info intertwined with history etc. A complete rewrite of the template is probably out of the question, but I feel like there are workable solutions. Xii Xii 19:37, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

Have a look at Template:Oxford area RDT This isn't large, but it does have several complexities. There are 47 different icon images, some occurring more than once ( (eHST) is present nine times,  (HUB-R) seven,  (STR) six, etc.). Moreover, some of the more complex "icons" are actually built up from two or more simpler icon images, in two ways. They may be two half-width icon images side by side, or they may be two normal-size icon images superimposed (or "overlaid" in routemap terminology) within the same square block. How would we handle these? --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 21:35, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

Completely agree, it would get very complicated. It does seem to me that an in-text description of the route alongside any RDT would be a practical way of solving this, with an aria-hidden tag on the diagram. Xii Xii 09:49, 25 August 2026 (UTC)

• This is a very useful and powerful template, but it certainly fails to comply with the requirements of WP:ACCESSIBILITY for both visually-impaired and color-blind users of Wikipedia. An RfC is perhaps a good idea. Focusing the RfC on a a single, narrow improvement is more likely to get responses and come to closure (vs a broad "anything goes" RfC). Also: where is the majority of the source code of this template located? I'm a software engineer, and perhaps I could have a go at the improvement to "display alt text when cursor is in background region" (suggested at Template_talk:Routemap#Is_there_a_way_to_provide_Alt_text_for_an_entire_routemap?. Noleander (talk) 21:44, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

  For background, see Template talk:Sepulveda Transit Corridor, where a few ideas got kicked around. It's a difficult problem. I continue to think that the most workable solution involves a textual description in the article. Alternative text on each individual icon probably isn't helpful because in an RDT oriented top-down each icon depends, at least in part, on the icons in the row above and below. Mackensen (talk) 22:34, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

  As you say, the body text is a decent fallback solution and partially solves the template's accessibility shortcomings. For the Nile article, I included a huge amount of detail in the body text to describe the "route map" of the river, so blind users get most of the information there. So - for the Nile article - that body text satisfies the accessibility requirements. Yet – ideally – there would also be a mechanism to provide alt text that screen readers could read, independent from the body text. Noleander (talk) 22:58, 23 August 2026 (UTC)