A social media video has surfaced showing a batch of new Piccadilly line trains passing through the Austrian city of St. Pölten, about 40 miles (64km) west of Vienna. The Tube trains are en route to the UK from a Siemens factory in Vienna, where a small proportion of the fleet is being built.
Testing and production details
Around 75 of the 94 new trains are being built at Siemens' sister factory in Goole, Yorkshire. The new services are expected to launch between December 2026 and June 2027. The video, posted this week on the London Underground subreddit, shows multiple Piccadilly line trains being transported through St. Pölten.
The '2024 Stock' is currently being tested on the Piccadilly line ahead of its introduction later this year. These are the first deep Tube trains to feature air conditioning and walkthrough cars, increasing capacity by 10 per cent.
Testing and closures
Midweek and weekend closures of the line continue this summer to allow testing. Transport for London (TfL) said one test train has already travelled 400km in a fully loaded state of 68 tonnes. The new trains are part of a wider £3.4bn investment project to modernise the Piccadilly line and replace the ageing 1970s stock. The increased fleet size will allow frequency to increase from 24 to 27 trains per hour.
Stuart Harvey, TfL's Chief Capital Officer, said: "I'd like to thank our customers for their patience while we carry out these essential upgrades to the Piccadilly line and rigorously test the new trains, which will transform journeys for many decades to come. Introducing a new fleet of trains is a huge engineering and logistical feat which inevitably requires upgrades and intensive testing."
Harvey added: "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 these pioneering new trains can operate effectively and interact correctly with a wide range of complex infrastructure. We are very confident that once this intensive period of upgrades and testing is completed, and the new trains start to enter service, our customers will reap the benefits of moving around the capital on these game-changing new trains."
Full list of Piccadilly line closures this summer for train testing
- Friday July 10 (Night Tube) - Sunday July 12: Hammersmith to Heathrow and Uxbridge
- Fri 17 July (Night Tube): Hyde Park Corner to Cockfosters
- Saturday July 18 - Sunday July 19: King's Cross St Pancras to Cockfosters
- Thursday July 30 - Friday July 31: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
- Friday July 31 (Night Tube): No service on the entire line
- Saturday August 1 - Sunday August 2: Cockfosters to Heathrow
- Monday 3 August: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
- Tuesday August 18 - Thursday August 20: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
- Tuesday August 25 - Thursday August 27: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
- Friday 18 September (Night Tube): Hyde Park Corner to Northfields
- Saturday September 19 - Sunday 20 September: Hyde Park Corner to Acton Town
- Saturday September 26 - Sunday 27 September: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
- Friday October 16 (Night Tube) - Sunday October 18: Hammersmith to Heathrow and Uxbridge
- Friday October 30 (Night Tube) - Sunday November 1: No service on the entire line
- Friday November 20 (Night Tube) - Sunday November 22: Hammersmith to Heathrow and Uxbridge
