The Piccadilly line’s new air-conditioned trains have been delayed again

Miserable news, Piccadilly line users: TfL has announced that the rollout of the navy blue line’s brand-new trains has been delayed again. 

The new vehicles, which have been tested in Austria and constructed in Yorkshire, will be walk-through and air-conditioned – but now they might not arrive until next summer. 

When will the new Piccadilly trains start running?

Commuters will have to wait until December 2026 to June 2027 to marvel at the Picc’s sleek air-conned carriages. Overall, the upgrade will have been delayed by nearly two years. 

And the new trains aren’t just late: their cost has ballooned by an extra £409million, bringing the refurbishment’s total cost to £3.4 billion. 

Stuart Harvey TfL’s chief capital officer explained the organisation needed to be ‘confident that these trains are ready to operate safely’. TfL said the delays were due to ‘the complexity of introducing entirely new trains onto ageing infrastructure’. Some sections of the line date all the way back to 1906.

Aglaja Schneider, joint-CEO of Siemens Mobility (which is building the trains), said: ‘As a Londoner, I know how excited everyone is about the new trains coming into service and, whilst there will be a delay, it won’t be long before these trains transform travel for millions of people.’

The long-awaited update will bring in 97 new trains to the navy blue tube line, increasing the service from 24 to 27 trains per hour (and eventually be boosted to 36). The new vehicles will have air-conditioning, walk-through carriages and wider doors. Find out everything you need to know about the brand spanking new Piccadilly line trains in our handy guide to everything they will and won’t have.

On the bright side, TfL has at least confirmed that the new DLR trains will be returning to customer use by late summer 2026. 

More Piccadilly line news

Regular commuters beware, most of the Piccadilly line will be closed for two weekends in March. 

ICYMI: London tube fares are going up in price this week – here’s how much more you will pay in every travel zone.

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