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A new London Underground test train has been vandalised after it arrived in London for its trial runs on the Piccadilly Line.
The test train, complete with the modern features set to be introduced onto the line next year, had only arrived in the UK hours earlier from a factory in Germany when graffiti was sprayed along the sides of the carriages.
British Transport Police said that it received reports at around 6.45am Monday (14 October) of criminal damage to several train carriages, adding that enquiries are ongoing.
Transport for London (TfL) said that the first of its new underground train fleet arrived in London on Monday, but has since been cleaned and driven to its depot.
The new trains will enter service on the Piccadilly line by the end of 2025, with the full fleet of 94 trains expected to be completely rolled out by the end of 2027.
The train took a 400-mile journey, pulled by another locomotive from its test track in Wildenrath, Germany, to London through the Channel Tunnel.
The train will undergo a period of testing overnight out of operating hours and during some planned closures, as well as in between gaps of normal services, to ensure it’s compatible with the Piccadilly line.
While the test train was built in Germany, around 80 per cent of the new trains will be produced at Siemens Mobility’s new factory in East Yorkshire.
The new trains will feature walk-through carriages, wider doorways, information screens, CCTV cameras and air-conditioning – a first for deep tube trains.
TfL hopes that the trains will be more energy efficient, consuming 20 per cent less energy than the existing fleet.
The new trains are part of a £2.9bn programme modernising the underground, which is predicted to boost journey times, train frequency and reliability.
The British Transport Police asks anyone with information on the vandalism to contact BTP by texting 61016, quoting reference ‘75 of 14 October’.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
