TfL has released images of its new Piccadilly Line trains, which are set to enter service in 2025.
The first of the 94 trains has arrived at the Siemens Mobility Test and Validation Centre in Germany for testing, having travelled from the production line in Vienna at the end of July.
The nine-carriage train will undergo “rigorous tests” including acceleration and braking functionality, noise and vibration trials and testing of onboard equipment.
The new trains, which will replace the existing fleet dating from the 1970s, will increase capacity by around 10 per cent and feature walk-through, air-conditioned carriages and improved accessibility.
Additionally, the trains are set to be more energy efficient owing to a significantly lighter design, which Siemens says “requires fewer bogies (the structure containing the wheels, motors and suspension to support and power the train)”.
Around half of the new trains will be assembled at Siemens Mobility’s new site in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, with the site currently near completion. Production is set to begin from early 2024, with up to £200 million invested in the train manufacturing facility.
Stuart Harvey, TfL’s chief capital officer, outlined that this project will be followed by similar work on the Bakerloo line, with the replacement of the currently operating 51-year-old trains. TfL will then introduce new signalling “across the Deep Tube lines [Piccadilly, Central, Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines] to realise the full benefits of the new trains”.
Harvey adds, however, that these works will not be possible “without continued capital investment from the Government from April 2024,” and says that TfL will continue to work with the Government “to make [London] an even better, greener, safer and more successful place for everyone”.
Sambit Banerjee, managing director for Rolling Stock and Customer Services for Siemens Mobility UKI, added:
“The first new Piccadilly line train is now at our world class testing facility in Germany where it will undergo a period of extensive testing. This is the first stage of testing before London Underground’s newest train reaches the UK for further testing and integration in late 2024. I am incredibly proud to see this first train continue its journey towards enhancing passenger experience and transforming rail travel on the Piccadilly line.“
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also commented on the new trains:
“These new trains will transform travel on the Piccadilly line, making them more comfortable for passengers and improving people’s daily journeys. Improvements like this also have a vital role to play in making our network more energy efficient and can only happen with continued government investment. I will continue to work with TfL and the Government to ensure we get the long-term investment our network needs and help build a better, more prosperous city for all Londoners.”
Earlier this year TfL announced that London’s individual Overground lines would receive new names, and also proposed a new express bus network, known as the Superloop, aimed at enhancing the connections between outer London boroughs.
