The Piccadilly line’s new trains have been delayed

The Piccadilly line’s new trains have been a long time coming. Designs for the navy blue tube line’s swanky new walk-through, air-conditioned carriages were revealed back in 2021, and since then we at Time Out have been following them closely – from testing phases in Austria to their construction in Yorkshire.

‘Late 2025’ was initially earmarked as when we could expect to see the Piccadilly’s swish new trains come into service. Today (June 20), however, TfL has issued an update: while the trains will begin testing this summer, they won’t begin operating until ‘the second half of 2026’. 

TfL says that the process of introducing the carriages to the network has been more complex than expected, partly due to the age of parts of the Piccadilly’s infrastructure. Some bits of the line are over 100 years old, and this year it’s regularly been closed so that TfL can adapt tunnels and platforms to accommodate the new trains. On top of that, testing how the new trains interact with existing infrastructure and systems has had to be rescheduled. 

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So, it’ll still be another year or so before Londoners get to ride sleek new trains on one of the city’s busiest tube lines – but the Piccadilly’s carriages look like they’ll be worth the wait. With walk-through, air-conditioned carriages, the trains will have 10 percent more capacity and boast double doorways, real-time digital displays and on-board CCTV. They’ll also be lighter, more energy efficient and a smoother ride for passengers. 

TfL’s chief capital officer Stuart Harvey said: ‘This is an ambitious project with new 21st century trains providing engineering challenges in both building and introduction into service on a 20th century railway and it is critical that we ensure that safety comes first and that the trains are in top condition when they begin to service London.

‘It will obviously be disappointing for customers that they will have to wait a bit longer for the new trains, and I regret that. But I would like to assure Londoners and visitors to our city that we are working extremely closely with Siemens to ensure that the new trains can be introduced as soon as possible in the second half of next year.’

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