Transport for London’s (TfL) commissioner has confirmed that ‘preparatory works’ to replace the Underground’s oldest trains are underway. The Bakerloo line’s stock is the oldest on the network, having been introduced in 1972.
Officials said in June that they are planning a broader upgrade of the route similar to that underway for the Piccadilly line. Stage one will be replacing the existing, ‘life-expired’ fleet.
A new maintenance facility will also be constructed at Stonebridge Park, which requires ‘extensive reconfiguration’ to ensure modern carriages can be delivered. Bosses add that other works, such as ‘power and upgraded communications systems’ will also be needed.
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What will the new stock be like?
TfL plans to purchase the new trains within TfL’s contract with Siemens Mobility Ltd for the supply of the new Piccadilly line fleet. If this goes ahead, Londoners could be riding brand new carriages on the Bakerloo line from the late 2020s.
These will provide ‘improved reliability, increased capacity, air-cooling, real-time information and journey time improvements’. This morning (Tuesday, December 19), TfL’s commissioner, Andy Lord, told the London Assembly that this will be done “in the hope that we secure funding in the longer term [from the Government] for the options of the Bakerloo line fleet”.
The Mayor of London and Chair of TfL, Sadiq Khan, told MyLondon in October: "The Bakerloo line trains are as old as me - that's pretty old. They're the oldest trains in the country. And so we've been encouraging, lobbying the Government to give us capital support to get a new fleet of trains.
"In the absence of that, we're making sure that our trains are properly maintained and kept safe.” Mr Khan’s deputy mayor for transport, Seb Dance, added: “Like everything, they will need replacing at some point.
“We can get the parts, we do have the engineering capability and expertise. But, obviously, it gets more and more expensive the older the trains get."
Government funding
The Department for Transport (DfT) has made it clear that transport in the capital is devolved to the Mayor, and it is for him and TfL to ensure the organisation is able to sustain itself financially and deliver transport services. In August 2022, the Government agreed a longer-term funding settlement which provided TfL with just under £1.2 billion of grant funding until the end of March 2024.
The Government says this is enabling almost £3.6 billion worth of critical infrastructure projects, matching the mayor's own pre-Covid capital spending plans, and taking Government funding to over £6 billion since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is in addition, bosses add, to the around £1 billion per annum in retained business rates, continued at the last spending review.
It was announced yesterday that TfL will receive just £250 million investment from the Government next year - half the amount it asked for. Bosses say the authority will therefore have a ‘shortfall in funding’.
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