For those of you looking forward to riding on the new Piccadilly Line trains (especially for those who travel from Heathrow into Central London), the rollout of the new trains has been delayed.
Entry into service is now targeted for the second half of 2026.
The new rolling stock (2024 stock) was originally meant to enter service in 2025.
Some trains have been delivered by Siemens to London, allowing TfL’s engineers have been able to assess the train on site. Unsurprisingly, the process and checks are more complex than initially expected. As a result, the start of a programme of testing the interactions with the infrastructure and systems has had to be rescheduled.
Siemens Mobility and TfL have been working together to address these issues, which will allow testing to start in the summer. All mitigations or design alterations will be incorporated into all future trains.
Once testing starts, enough time is needed to fully test the complex interactions between the new train and some of the oldest infrastructure on the Tube to ensure the trains are safe and reliable for passengers, which will undoubtedly lead to more issues being identified.
All this is done because when the train enters commercial service, it has to be safe and reliable for passengers. Without the testing of the train and infrastructure together in London, this work cannot start.
In quotes
Stuart Harvey, TfL’s Chief Capital Officer, said:
“We’re proud and excited that these innovative new trains on the Piccadilly line will have a transformative effect for London. This hugely complex project will boost capacity and make journeys more accessible and more comfortable for millions of people. This is an ambitious project with new 21st century trains providing engineering challenges in both building and introduction into service on a 20th century railway and it is critical that we ensure that safety comes first and that the trains are in top condition when they begin to service London.
“It will obviously be disappointing for customers that they will have to wait a bit longer for the new trains, and I regret that. But I would like to assure Londoners and visitors to our city that we are working extremely closely with Siemens to ensure that the new trains can be introduced as soon as possible in the second half of next year.”
Sambit Banerjee, Joint CEO at Siemens Mobility, said:
“We’re working really hard with TfL to deliver the new Piccadilly line trains that are going to transform travel for people in London. Any project like this is complicated – we’re bringing state-of-the-art, air-conditioned, walk-through trains into tunnels that were built 120 years ago.
“We’re sorry we can’t have our innovative trains running for passengers even sooner but, once they’re in service, the technology on these new trains will bring smoother, greener and more comfortable journeys for Londoners for the next 30 or more years.”
It’s going to be a bit of a wait
Whilst these new trains have air conditioning (a first for a deep-level underground train), as well as walk-through carriages, wider double doorways for easier boarding, real-time digital displays and on-board CCTV – as well as weight savings, all this needs to be tested.
Whilst you can test at a test track or on some open infrastructure, nothing beats testing in the real world, where these trains will spend the next 30 years.
How soon is another matter. For now, the classic 1973 Stock will have to soldier on for another few years, as the kinks are worked out and all the old trains are withdrawn.
However, there is a bright note – TfL has managed to secure its recent funding settlement from the Government. As such, the plan to introduce the new trains on the Piccadilly line can progress, along with discussions about replacing the oldest passenger trains on the Underground network, which operate on the Bakerloo line
The Bakerloo line operates some of the oldest trains on the network (the 1972 deep-tube stock), currently getting on for 53 years old for the oldest examples.
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