The first new Piccadilly line train is to be tested in Germany on Tuesday as transport bosses prepare for the model’s introduction to London’s Tube network.
The train will undergo acceleration and braking testing, along with noise and vibration trials and assessments of its hardware and software.
The line’s existing trains, which have been in use since 1975, are expected to be replaced with the new models in 2025.
The state-of-the-art fleet will feature walk-through carriages, air cooling, wider all-double doorways, enhanced digital information screens, improved step-free access onto the platform and on-train CCTV cameras. The trains will become the first deep level Tubes to be air-cooled.
The first of the 94 new trains came off the production line in Vienna, Austria, at the end of July, before travelling to the test centre in Wegberg-Wildenrath, Germany.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “These new trains will transform travel on the Piccadilly line, making them more comfortable for passengers and improving people’s daily journeys.”
The new trains will increase capacity by around 10 per cent and are also significantly lighter than existing designs which will mean the trains are more energy efficient as well as providing a smoother ride.
Stuart Harvey, Transport for London’s chief capital officer, said: “We hope to follow the introduction of these new trains to the Piccadilly line by doing the same on the Bakerloo line, replacing the 51-year-old trains that it currently operates, and then by introducing new signalling across the deep Tube lines to realise the full benefits of the new trains.”
The new signalling system would allow 36 trains an hour to run at peak times.
Work to complete Siemens Mobility's new site in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire - where around half the trains will be assembled - is meanwhile nearing completion.
The site is currently in the final stages of fit-out, with recruitment well under way, ahead of production starting from early 2024.
