Background In the late 1990s, the
Labour government initiated a
public–private partnership (PPP) to reverse years of underinvestment in
London Underground. 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. As part of the upgrade work, new
rolling stock was to be ordered. Tube Lines planned to order 93 new
Piccadilly line trains, which would enter service by 2014. Contract award was anticipated for 2008, with trains to enter service in 2014. and
Transport for London (TfL) subsequently bought out the Tube Lines consortium in 2010, formally ending the PPP.
Feasibility and initial planning Following the return to public ownership, 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. This would complete the modernisation of Underground lines started with the formation of TfL in 2000. 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. 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. the
Bombardier built 2009 Stock did not have open gangways. New trains would also have air conditioning, which earlier deep-level trains lacked. A mock-up of the
Siemens Inspiro design was exhibited at
The Crystal between October 2013 and January 2014.
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. This
unattended train operation is claimed to require the installation of
platform screen doors, a substantial additional cost. 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 – would cost around £7billion, 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." However, the
Department for Transport pushed for the introduction of driverless trains as a precondition of any future long-term funding deal for TfL. In 2024, the Mayor of London
Sir Sadiq Khan confirmed that plans to introduce driverless trains in London would "progress no further".
New Tube for London / Deep Tube Upgrade Programme 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: Overall, the project is estimated to cost a total of £16billion, with a benefit/cost ratio of 4.2 to 1. The Piccadilly line would be the first to be upgraded, given the age of its rolling stock. Other lines would then be upgraded over a period of around ten years.
Bidding process In early 2014, TfL invited train manufacturers to make expressions of interest in the
Official Journal of the European Union. TfL also commissioned industrial designers PriestmanGoode to produce a conceptual design to be used by the train manufacturers. Unveiled in October 2014 to high acclaim, the design included several features not seen before on the
deep level tube, including walk-through carriages and air conditioning. In late 2014, TfL published a shortlist of manufacturers who had expressed an interest in supplying new trains –
Alstom,
Siemens,
Hitachi,
CAF and Bombardier.
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. 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 ten for the Waterloo & City line. 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. 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. 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. == Siemens 'InspiroLondon' ==