Siemens Mobility has finally signed a £1.5 billion contract with London Underground for new Piccadilly line trains.
Confirmation comes after Transport for London (TfL) announced its intention to award the deal to Siemens in June. Other bids were received by Alstom and a Bombardier-Hitachi joint venture, which had launched a legal challenge against the decision.
The initial order is for 94 trains and the supply of spares and whole life technical support. It has been awarded with the expectation that Siemens will also build trains for the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City lines. Creating a single train design will allow TfL to maximise cost savings through greater standardisation of train operations, staff training, equipment, spares and maintenance.
Dubbed the ‘Inspiro London’, the new rolling stock will replace the 1970s-built Piccadilly line fleet, which is “old, increasingly unreliable and expensive to maintain” according to TfL, from 2024.
By the end of 2026, these trains will enable increased frequencies from 24 to 27 trains-per-hour during peak times.
The state-of-the-art trains have wider doors and longer, walk-through, fully air-conditioned carriages. They also come with in-train information systems.
The contract award is a significant step in Siemens’ plans to build a new train factory in Goole.
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