The first new Piccadilly line trains have entered testing – and are due to start running in London in two years.Transport for London bosses say the 94 new trains will transform one of the Tube’s busiest lines, increasing capacity by 10 per cent. They will also be the first deep-level “walk through” trains on the Underground - and the first with air conditioning.A new moquette seat pattern has been designed for the trains, named Holden in honour of Charles Holden, the London Underground architect between the 1920s and 1940s who changed the face of the capital with iconic stations such as Arnos Grove and Southgate.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 I've come to the Siemens factory in Norman, Germany
00:03 for a look at the brand new Piccadilly Line trains.
00:07 These trains are due to arrive in London
00:09 for testing next summer and to go into service
00:12 on the Piccadilly Line around summer 2025.
00:16 It's a leaner, greener train for London,
00:18 10% more capacity, 10% lighter,
00:21 which means it's 20% more energy efficient.
00:24 - Why are you bringing them in?
00:26 - We're bringing them in because
00:27 the current Piccadilly Line trains are
00:30 at the end of their life.
00:31 They've served London brilliantly.
00:33 They've been around for nearly 50 years
00:34 and it's time to replace them.
00:36 - What do you think Londoners will make of these new trains?
00:40 - I think they're great.
00:41 We have put a lot of effort, engineering effort,
00:45 to make the passenger journey more comfortable.
00:48 These are articulated trains,
00:50 so passengers can spread across the train
00:54 so that there is no overcrowding at any point.
00:57 The seats are very, very comfortable.
01:00 The height is slightly bigger.
01:02 And then there is the provisional icing on the cake.
01:05 It's an air-cooled train,
01:06 the first air-cooled train for London Underground.
01:10 - There's also the possibility that if TfL
01:12 is given permission to buy new Bakerloo Line trains,
01:16 then these too would be built in Yorkshire.
01:19 The issue for TfL, though, when these new trains come in,
01:23 is that the tracking signaling is not being upgraded
01:25 at the same time.
01:27 - If we were to look for more investment,
01:29 really the Bakerloo Line is where we'd be looking.
01:31 That fleet is as old as the Piccadilly Line.
01:33 We'd love to bring trains like this
01:35 onto the Bakerloo Line.
01:36 - So I've just had a test ride
01:37 on the new Piccadilly Line train.
01:40 What's the verdict?
01:41 Well, it's lovely and quiet and it's very smooth.
01:44 But of course, this is a test track facility.
01:47 It's not running down from, say,
01:48 Finsbury Park to Leicester Square,
01:51 and it's not full of passengers at rush hour.
01:53 However, make no mistake,
01:55 this is a huge step forward for London Underground.
01:57 It's been years since we last had a new Underground train,
02:00 probably dating back to the Jubilee Line,
02:03 around 2000, if not before.
02:05 Obviously, we've had the Elizabeth Line
02:07 and the London Underground,
02:09 but when this arrives in 2025,
02:12 Londoners are in for something of a treat.
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