Piccadilly Line Closures Will Enable New Trains to Run
Parts of service will not be operating for over two weeks
The new Piccadilly Line trains will be in service next year. Picture: Seimens
July 23, 2024
Transport for London (TfL) has announced extended closures on the Piccadilly line for track and platform upgrades.
The works are to enable the introduction of a new fleet of 94 trains which are due to come into service next year.
There is to be a 16-day part closure of the line from Saturday 17 August to Sunday 1 September between Rayners Lane to Uxbridge and between Wood Green to Cockfosters. Rail replacement buses will not be provided for the closure in the western section.
The closures seen last weekend (20-21 July) are the last that will affect local stations and services to Heathrow will remain open. However, there will be a reduced service overall due to the unavailability of trains.
During peak hours there will be a train every 4 minutes between Acton Town and Wood Green and every five minutes off peak and at weekends. Services to Heathrow Terminal 4 will only be every 15-20 minutes and passengers are advised to consider using the Elizabeth Line instead.
The new trains are part of a £2.9bn investment to modernise the line and feature air-conditioning, walk-through carriages, wider all-double doors and enhanced digital displays. However, the signalling upgrade, which is estimated to cost around £2.4 billion, has not yet received the necessary funding from the government. This would maximise the benefits of the new trains, potentially increasing the number of trains running per hour from 24-27 to 36 during peak times, which would result in a 64% increase in capacity (Transport for London) (Haringey Community Press). Without this upgrade, the new trains alone will only boost capacity by about 23% during peak hours.
The longest of these is a 16-day planned part closure of the Piccadilly line (Wood Green to Cockfosters and Rayners Lane to Uxbridge) between Saturday 17 August and Sunday 1 September, with a reduced service expected on other parts of the Piccadilly line due to the unavailability of trains.
Stuart Harvey, Chief Capital Officer at TfL, said, "I'd like to thank our customers for their patience while we carry out these essential upgrades to the Piccadilly line. The closures will help us prepare for the arrival of the fleet of 94 brand-new trains which will transform journeys on the line in the coming decades. Introducing a new fleet of trains is a huge engineering and logistical feat. Although much of the hard work goes on behind the scenes, there are times when we need to close sections of the railway to ensure that all existing infrastructure is compatible with the new trains. Closures of this type are scheduled to take place, where possible, in school holidays when demand on our network is significantly reduced."
Up to 80 per cent of the new Piccadilly line trains will be built in the UK at Siemens Mobility's new manufacturing facility in Goole, Yorkshire.
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