Quote Originally Posted by ChickPea View Post
Silk, I'm not sure what the Beeb use either, but certainly looks like vector.

If you've money to spend, take a look at Adobe Illustrator. If not, download Inkscape for free at inkscape.org. Also, have you had a look at Open Street Map (www.openstreetmap.org)? You can export data from there in SVG, which is Inkscape's native format. This allows you to import Open Street Map's data directly into Inkscape to manipulate as you please. I haven't a whole lot of experience with this, as I'm more into fantasy mapping, rather than real world, but I'm sure there are lots of tutorials on the web. Of course, other guild members might have more useful suggestions for you, but hopefully this can be a starting point.
Thanks ChickPea, I've noticed the emphasis on fantasy sites here. I don't mind paying for something and or seeing if I can get a free or cheap educational copy.
Adobe Illustrator looks very powerful and a lot of work to learn and use.
Inkscape sounds interesting due to support for the openstreetmap standard. It would be a lot of work to hand draw a the rail line from Beijing to London.

I find this guide on BBC mapping.
You MUST use Bing® Maps (Microsoft Virtual Earth) as your interactive mapping provider.
At present, you MUST NOT use Google Maps on bbc.co.uk.
This answer is very detailed.
I wish i could find a quote or spoiler option.

Adobe Illustrator video for anyone else interested