State-of-the-art new £3bn fleet of air-conditioned Piccadilly line trains delayed by a year
20 June 2025, 11:00 | Updated: 20 June 2025, 11:25
The launch of a £3 billion fleet of air-conditioned trains on the Piccadilly line has been delayed by a year.
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TfL announced today that the rollout of the new stock, which had been highly anticipated by passengers, has been ‘rescheduled’.
The fleet of 94 new trains will have air conditioning, more capacity, wider doors for quicker boarding, and walk-through carriages. The trains currently in service on the line date back to 1973.
TfL had said the new trains would be in use by the end of 2025.
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However they have now said they will not come into use until ‘the second half of 2026’.
TfL has said it has been ‘challenging’ and ‘complex’ to get the new trains fit for use. According to the London Standard, the delay is due to problems introducing the new trains onto challenging ‘real life’ conditions in the London Underground tunnels compared to test tracks.
“As a result, the start of a rigorous programme of testing the interactions with the infrastructure and systems has had to be rescheduled,” TfL said.
“Given the complexity of introducing this novel train into a railway that is more than one hundred years old and that is shared with other trains at some locations, it is expected that there will need to be time to address any issues identified. This is to make sure the train is safe and reliable for passengers. Without the testing of the train and infrastructure together in London, this work cannot start.”
Stuart Harvey, TfL's Chief Capital Officer, said: “It is critical that we ensure that safety comes first and that the trains are in top condition when they begin to service London.”
He said the new trains would be introduced “as soon as possible in the second half of next year.”
TfL aims to have all 94 trains in service “18 to 20 months” after the first one starts running.
