When the contract was awarded to Siemens the cost of the new trains was agreed to be £1.5 Billion which will now rise by £34 Million.
As the new trains are introduced to the Piccadilly line, the current fleet will be gradually withdrawn from passenger service and the frequency of trains in peak hours will rise from 24 to 27 trains per hour from mid-2027. This is a train every 135 seconds at the busiest times and represents a 23 per cent increase in peak service capacity.
The state-of-the-art Tube trains will significantly improve the experience of millions of customers, with wider doors and longer, walk-through, air-conditioned carriages for more comfortable journeys. For comparison, the current trains have double doors of 137cm wide and single doors at the carriage ends that are 68cm wide. The new train’s doors will all be 169cm wide.
This is achieved by using an innovative articulated design, meaning fewer bogies (the structures containing the wheels, motors and suspension to support and power the train) are required per full-length train. This provides the additional benefit of a smoother ride.
The trains currently running on the line have become increasingly unreliable and expensive to maintain and will be 50 years old by the time they are replaced. Despite the devastating impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on its finances, TfL is continuing to replace these assets, meaning that from 2025, the new spacious ‘Inspiro London’ trains will serve customers on the Piccadilly line, future-proofed to ensure they are suitable for many years to come.
As the new trains are introduced to the Piccadilly line, the current fleet will be gradually withdrawn from passenger service and the frequency of trains in peak hours will rise from 24 to 27 trains per hour from mid-2027. This is a train every 135 seconds at the busiest times and represents a 23 per cent increase in peak service capacity.
The state-of-the-art Tube trains will significantly improve the experience of millions of customers, with wider doors and longer, walk-through, air-conditioned carriages for more comfortable journeys. For comparison, the current trains have double doors of 137cm wide and single doors at the carriage ends that are 68cm wide. The new train’s doors will all be 169cm wide.
The new trains optimise space to boast 10 per cent more capacity, as well as being significantly lighter than existing designs, meaning energy efficiency is increased and damage to tracks is reduced.
This is achieved by using an innovative articulated design, meaning fewer bogies (the structures containing the wheels, motors and suspension to support and power the train) are required per full-length train. This provides the additional benefit of a smoother ride.
The new trains have also been designed with sustainability in mind. They are 95 per cent recoverable and also offer regenerative braking capability, cutting-edge traction systems, LED lighting throughout and advanced energy management. This means energy consumption is reduced by 20 per cent compared with the existing fleet.
The longer, more spacious, air-conditioned trains will be fully walk-through, boosting accessibility and ensuring customers can move easily to quieter areas of the train. The train design has been developed with regular feedback from TfL’s Independent Disability Advisory Group (IDAG) and the TfL Accessibility Forum.
