New Tube for London
Finalised concept design of the New Tube for London
In servicePlanned for 2025
ManufacturerSiemens Mobility
Built at
Family nameInspiro
Replaced1973 Stock
Constructed2022–present
Formation9 cars per train[1]
Capacity1,076 per train (268 seated)[1]
Lines servedPiccadilly
Specifications
Train length113.7 m (373 ft 3⁄8 in)[1]
Width2.648 m (8 ft 8+1⁄4 in)[1]
Height2.844 m (9 ft 3+15⁄16 in)[1]
Maximum speed100 km/h (62 mph)[1]
Power output2.5 MW (3,400 hp)[1]
Electric system(s)630–750 V DC third and fourth rail[1]
Current collector(s)Contact shoe
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Stock typeDeep-level tube
Notes/references
 London transport portal

The New Tube for London (NTfL) is a London Underground train being built by Siemens Mobility at its facilities in Vienna, Austria, and Goole, Yorkshire, United Kingdom. It is part of the Siemens Inspiro family of metro and rapid-transport trains.[2]

An initial batch of 94 nine-car trains has been ordered at a cost of £1.5 billion to replace 1973 Stock trains on the Piccadilly line, with options for a total of 250 trains allowing replacement of all existing trains on the deep-level Central, Waterloo & City and Bakerloo lines. Planned starting date for the service is 2025, firstly on the Piccadilly line.[3][4][5] The trains will enter service with a train driver, with future potential for driverless operation.[6]

History

Background

In the late 1990s, the Labour government initiated a public–private partnership (PPP) to reverse years of underinvestment in London Underground.[7] Under the PPP contracts, two private consortiums (Metronet and Tube Lines) would maintain, renew and upgrade London Underground infrastructure over a period of 30 years from 2003.[8] As part of the upgrade work, new rolling stock was to be ordered.[9][10]

Tube Lines planned to order 93 new Piccadilly line trains, which would enter service by 2014.[10] In January 2007, Tube Lines started the process of ordering new Piccadilly line trains, by querying if train manufacturers would be interested in supplying them.[11] Contract award was anticipated for 2008, with trains to enter service on the Piccadilly line in 2014.[11] Following the delivery of 2009 Stock and S Stock trains in the 2010s, Metronet planned to order 24 new Bakerloo line trains, which would enter service by 2019.[9]

However, Metronet was placed in administration in 2007 after cost overruns,[12] and Transport for London (TfL) bought out the Tube Lines consortium in 2010, formally ending the PPP.[13]

Feasibility and initial planning

Following the collapse of the PPPs, TfL began planning the modernisation of Underground lines not started by the PPP. This project would include the eventual replacement of trains, new signalling and other upgrades to the Piccadilly, Central, Waterloo & City and Bakerloo lines.[14] This would complete the modernisation of Underground lines started with the formation of TfL in 2000.[15]

In 2017 TfL said that existing trains on the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines were approaching the end of their useful lives, and the 1992 Stock used on the Central and Waterloo & City lines was significantly less reliable than more modern rolling stock.[14][16]

Replacement of these older trains with open gangway rolling stock – similar to the S Stock used on the Underground's subsurface lines – would increase passenger capacity, with new automatic signalling increasing capacity further.[14] Although the use of open gangways was considered in the late 1990s,[17] the Bombardier 2009 Stock did not have open gangways. New trains would also have air conditioning, which earlier deep-level trains lacked.[14]

In 2011, Siemens presented "EVO" – a conceptual articulated train with walk-through cars, that would be 30 tonnes lighter, consume 17 per cent less energy and have 11 per cent more passenger capacity than existing trains.[18][19][20] A mock-up of the Siemens Inspiro design was exhibited at The Crystal between October 2013 and January 2014.[20] Siemens also proposed building the new train in the UK, after being criticised for building the Class 700 Thameslink trains in Germany.[21]

Potential of driverless operation

New trains would have the potential to operate automatically without a driver, which would save operating costs and prevent disruption during strikes.[6][22] This unattended train operation would require the installation of platform screen doors, a substantial additional cost.[14] The ASLEF and RMT trade unions that represent drivers strongly oppose the introduction of driverless trains, saying it would affect safety.[23][24]

In 2020, a leaked TfL study found that the upgrade work required for totally unattended train operation – platform screen doors at stations and a safety walkway in tunnels[25] – would cost around £7 billion, concluding that "the financial payback is negative". The study also indicated that automatically driven trains with a member of staff present on board (similar to the Docklands Light Railway) offered "reasonable value for money."[26] However, the Department for Transport pushed for the introduction of driverless trains as a precondition of any future long-term funding deal for TfL.[27]

New Tube for London

Mockup of Siemens' "evo" concept proposal

In early 2014, the project was named New Tube for London (NTfL) and moved from a feasibility stage to the design and specification stage. A TfL feasibility study showed that new generation trains and re-signalling could increase capacity:

NTfL capacity increase forecast[14]
Line Capacity increase tph Notes
Piccadilly 60% 36
Central 25% 36
Waterloo & City 50% 30 Requires track remodelling at Waterloo
Bakerloo 25% 27

Overall, the project is estimated to cost a total of £16 billion, with a benefit/cost ratio of 4.2 to 1.[6][28] The Piccadilly line would be the first to be upgraded, given the age of its rolling stock.[29] Other lines would then be upgraded over a period of around 10 years.

Bidding process

In early 2014, TfL invited train manufacturers to make expressions of interest in the Official Journal of the European Union.[30][31] TfL also commissioned industrial designers PriestmanGoode to produce a conceptual design to be used by the train manufacturers.[32][33][34] Unveiled in October 2014 to high acclaim,[35] the design included several features not seen before on the deep level tube, including walk-through carriages and air conditioning.[36][37]

In late 2014, TfL published a shortlist of manufacturers who had expressed an interest in supplying new trains – Alstom, Siemens, Hitachi, CAF and Bombardier.[36] The invitation to tender for the trains was issued in January 2016.[30][31] It was planned to award the contract in 2016, with trains entering service in 2023.[29] During the tender period, Bombardier and Hitachi formed a joint venture (JV), and CAF chose not to submit a bid. Three bids (Alstom, Siemens, Hitachi/Bombardier JV) were submitted in September 2016.[15] All bidders proposed to build the trains in existing or new UK factories.[38][39]

Contract award and future contract options

Since TfL could not afford 250 new trains and upgraded signalling, it decided to buy only 94 trains, for the Piccadilly line, and relegate future train purchases to contract options.[40][41][15] In 2019, TfL raised £1 billion to buy the Piccadilly line trains by selling and leasing back Class 345 Elizabeth line trains.[42]

In total, 250 trains could be ordered throughout the lifetime of the Deep Tube Upgrade Programme, comprising 100 trains for the Piccadilly line, 40 for the Bakerloo line, 100 for the Central line and 10 for the Waterloo & City line.[5] Future trains would be adapted to meet the requirements of lines, with the potential of active steering of bogies, and different numbers of cars per trainset as required.[43]

In 2023, the Railway Industry Association requested that a decision to order Bakerloo line trains should be made as soon as possible, given the age of the 1972 Stock trains and to provide continuous work for the Goole factory.[44] TfL's financial issues following the COVID-19 pandemic means that the order has not been made, with Mayor Sadiq Khan requesting investment from Government.[45]

Siemens 'InspiroLondon'

In June 2018, the Siemens Mobility Inspiro design was selected, with 94 trains ordered in a £1.5 billion contract.[46] In July 2018, the award was challenged, unsuccessfully, in the High Court by the Hitachi/Bombardier JV;[47] Siemens was awarded the contract in November 2018.[48]

TfL said that the trains would be designed and built by Siemens Mobility at its planned £200m new factory in Goole, East Yorkshire,[39] and later that 50 per cent of the trains would be built at an existing Siemens factory in Vienna, Austria, while the Goole factory was constructed.[2] In July 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the Goole site to mark the start of construction of the factory.[49][50] Manufacturing of the trains in Austria was due to start in August 2021, with first deliveries to London from 2024.[51]

Despite the lack of resignalling,[52] the purchase of new trains will still increase the capacity of the Piccadilly line, with 27 trains per hour at peak times by 2027.[3] Trains will enter service with a human operator on board. However, resignalling of the line could permit driverless operation in future.[6]

Features of the new train include:[53][54][55][43]

  • 10 per cent increase in passenger capacity per train due to the open gangway design
  • wider double doorways throughout, with no single-width doorways, allowing for faster boarding
  • energy consumption 20 per cent lower than existing trains due to regenerative brakes, LED lighting and lighter construction
  • air conditioning, for the first time on the deep-level tube
  • faster and more reliable than existing older trains
  • ability to drive automatically once lines have been resignalled, with potential for driverless operation
  • LED screens to provide passenger information and advertising

Name

Siemens has branded the train "Inspiro London",[4] although some sources have named it "2024 Stock",[56][57] following the existing naming precedent. As of March 2021, the official name of the train had not been confirmed by TfL.[4]

Delivery

Initially, deliveries were to begin in 2023, with entry into service in 2024.[58] By March 2021, the delivery schedule had slipped: the trains were then expected to enter service on the Piccadilly line in 2025,[2][4] followed by improvements to stations and service levels in 2027.[3][51] As of November 2023, testing in London will begin in summer 2024, with entry into service in 2025.[59]

Testing of the first train commenced at the Siemens Wegberg-Wildenrath Test and Validation Centre in Germany in mid-2023.[60][59]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Inspiro London: 94 nine-car metro trains for the Piccadilly line (PDF). Siemens Mobility. March 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Lydall, Ross (4 March 2021). "First look: TfL unveils design of new Piccadilly line trains". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Piccadilly Line: Plans for new 'walk-through' trains unveiled". BBC News. 4 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "TfL and Siemens Mobility unveil detailed design of new Piccadilly line trains" (Press release). Transport for London. 4 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Siemens Mobility Limited to be awarded TfL contract to design and manufacture a new generation of Tube trains" (Press release). Transport for London. 15 June 2018. Archived from the original on 19 January 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Beard, Matthew (9 October 2014). "Revealed: Inside the new 'driverless' Tube trains to be phased in on London Underground from 2022". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021. A driver's cab will be incorporated into the initial roll-out but the train design makes it possible for these to be removed, creating London's first driverless Tube train, though probably not until 2030.
  7. ↑ "New blow to Tube sell-off plan". BBC News. 16 December 2000. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "Final stamp on Tube PPP deal". BBC News. 4 April 2003. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Metronet Brochure 2005" (PDF). Metronet (British infrastructure company). 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Details of Tube modernisation plans unveiled" (Press release). Tube Lines. 8 January 2003. Archived from the original on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Tube Lines invites expressions of interest from manufacturers for new Piccadilly line trains" (Press release). Tube Lines. 15 January 2007. Archived from the original on 24 February 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  12. ↑ "Metronet calls in administrators". BBC News. 18 July 2007. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  13. ↑ "Tube maintenance back 'in house' as new deal is signed". BBC News. 8 May 2010. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "New Tube for London - Feasibility Report" (PDF). Transport for London. October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 "Deep Tube Upgrade Programme – Piccadilly line Upgrade Stage 1: Rolling stock replacement" (PDF). Transport for London. 16 May 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  16. ↑ Hawkins, John (January 2017). "LU Train reliability" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  17. ↑ Hope, Richard (1 August 1998). "Space Train to boost Tube capacity". Railway Gazette International. London. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  18. ↑ "Siemens Inspiro London". Atlantic Design. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  19. ↑ Connor, Piers (January 2013). "Deep tube transformation". Modern Railways. pp. 44–47.
  20. 1 2 "Siemens unveils London Underground concept train". Railway Gazette International. London. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  21. ↑ "The Tube of the future? £1m per carriage Inspiro train concept is unveiled". Evening Standard. London. 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2021. with a hint to the mayor that if he placed an order for one of the new trains for the Piccadilly, Bakerloo and Central lines it would be fulfilled in the UK. Siemens controversially manufactured the £1bn-plus Thameslink train order from the Government in its native Germany.
  22. ↑ "'The future's driverless', says Transport Secretary as Tube deal drags on". ITV News. 4 August 2022. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022. London Underground trains won't need drivers in years to come meaning fewer frustrating strikes for commuters, according to the Transport Secretary.
  23. ↑ "Driverless Tube trains: Unions vow 'war' over plan". BBC News. 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  24. ↑ "Driverless trains 'not going to happen'". BBC News. 16 February 2014. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  25. ↑ Bull, John (1 June 2021). "The Political Myth of the Driverless Tube Train". London Reconnections. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  26. ↑ "Driverless trains 'poor value' says leaked TfL study". BBC News. 26 October 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  27. ↑ Salisbury, Josh (3 March 2022). "TfL 'told it must embrace driverless trains for funding deal'". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  28. ↑ "The 'New Tube for London'". www.railtechnologymagazine.com. 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  29. 1 2 "Rail and Underground Panel Item 6: New Tube for London" (PDF). Transport for London. 13 November 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  30. 1 2 "New Tube for London Programme" (PDF). Board Minutes. Transport for London. 5 February 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  31. 1 2 "New Tube for London Programme". Railway Gazette International. 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  32. ↑ Acharya, Dipal (23 October 2014). "Tunnel Vision: meet the team that are 'future-proofing' London's tubes". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  33. ↑ "New Tube for London". PriestmanGoode. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  34. ↑ The New Tube for London, Transport for London, 9 October 2014, archived from the original on 24 January 2021, retrieved 6 March 2021
  35. ↑ "Priestmangoode's driverless tube train designs for London Underground". Dezeen. 9 October 2014. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  36. 1 2 "Design for the 'New Tube for London' revealed" (Press release). TfL. 9 October 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  37. ↑ "London Underground: Designs for Tube trains unveiled". BBC News. 9 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  38. ↑ "French train firm unveils plans for £20m plant in north-west England". The Guardian. London. 7 October 2016. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  39. 1 2 "East Yorkshire factory wins £1.5bn Tube train deal". BBC News. 15 June 2018. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  40. ↑ Harris, Simon (3 January 2018). "Plan to sell part of Tube fleet branded 'quite mad'". ITV News. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  41. ↑ "Deep Tube Programme in doubt". Modern Railways. 21 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  42. ↑ "TfL awards controversial £1bn 'sale and leaseback' Crossrail fleet deal to Natwest-backed group". City AM. London. 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  43. 1 2 Dobell, Malcolm (25 June 2021). "Piccadilly Line trains: a journey from 1891 to 2025". Rail Engineer. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  44. ↑ "The UK Rolling Stock Industry Report 2023 - New Tab". www.riagb.org.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  45. ↑ Harris, Simon (27 February 2023). "Bank Tube station's £700m upgrade could be London's 'last major engineering project' for a while". ITV News. Retrieved 10 August 2023. But future 'big ticket' schemes including new Bakerloo line trains ... because of Transport for London's funding problems.
  46. ↑ "Siemens to supply London Underground deep tube fleet". Metro Report International. 15 June 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  47. ↑ "Bombardier and Hitachi file high court papers over London Underground contract". International Railway Journal. 24 July 2018. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  48. ↑ "TfL and Siemens sign £1.5bn New Tube for London contract". International Railway Journal. 20 November 2018. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  49. ↑ "Prime Minister marks major milestone for Siemens Mobility's Goole rail facility" (Press release). Siemens Mobility. 6 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  50. ↑ Riley, Anna; Laister, David (6 July 2020). "PM Boris Johnson hails Goole's train-building future on site visit". Business Live. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  51. 1 2 Hirani, Krupesh; Khan, Sadiq (5 July 2021). "Piccadilly line upgrade". Mayor's Question Time. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  52. ↑ Mathewson, Jessie (9 July 2020). "Piccadilly line upgrade on hold amid coronavirus pandemic". East London and West Essex Guardian. Watford. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  53. ↑ "Piccadilly Line: Plans for new 'walk-through' trains unveiled". BBC News. 4 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  54. ↑ "Improving the Tube - What we're doing - Improving the trains". Transport for London. n.d. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  55. ↑ "Introducing the newest edition to the world's oldest metro system". Siemens Mobility. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  56. ↑ "2024 Stock design due soon". Rail Express. No. 207. February 2021. p. 43.
  57. ↑ "Piccadilly Line 2024 stock on test". www.modernrailways.com. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  58. ↑ "Siemens signs £1·5bn London Underground train contract". Metro Report International. 20 November 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  59. 1 2 "Piccadilly Line 2024 stock on test". Modern Railways. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  60. ↑ "Piccadilly progress: 2024 stock reaches Wildenrath". Modern Railways. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Tube for London.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.