THE final design for the Piccadilly Line replacement rolling stock is due to be submitted to London Underground in March. Transport for London is unofficially referring to the future Piccadilly Line units as 2024 Stock, which follows the convention of naming fleets after the year the first unit is due for delivery. The coronavirus epidemic has already impacted the estimated year, however, meaning that the first unit is now unlikely to arrive until 2025.
Full scale mock-ups of a future cab and body are being constructed in Germany and Buckinghamshire respectively. These models will enable manufacturer Siemens to confirm the final external and internal design of the units, as well as maintenance features and characteristics.
Meanwhile TfL has confirmed that some contracts to supply components have been awarded, for example on-board CCTV systems are to be supplied by Panasonic. Other potential contractors are currently being identified using a ‘Supplier Pre-Qualification Questionnaire’.
The project, previously referred to as the New Tube for London (NTfL) and the Deep Tube Upgrade Programme, has resulted in just 94 of the originally intended 250 units being ordered so far. The contract option for an additional six Piccadilly Line trains was not taken up, while further orders for the Central, Waterloo & City, and Bakerloo Lines remain outstanding.
Given the current uncertainty regarding future passenger demand in a post-Covid era, as well as rising debts from loans imposed by Central Government during the epidemic, it is possible the Piccadilly Line will be the only line to receive these vehicles.
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LNER puts remaining ‘91s' into warm store
The ongoing pandemic restrictions and major engineering works have resulted in the complete withdrawal of the last remaining ‘Electras’ from passenger service, although the plan is to resurrect them in the summer.
Mk.1 Restaurant-Buffet (RBR) cars
A SURPRISING number of Mk.1catering cars have survived to see service on the privatised railway, in private operator and charter trains. They may turn up on anything from an enthusiast special to higher-end dining trains and have been formed in trains as prestigious as the locomotive-hauledBlue Pullman’ set, the ‘Great Britain’ tours operated by West Coast Railways and the ‘Northern Belle’ tour train.
Powerscene
Our authoritative class-by-class review of newsworthy locomotive workings.
End for Freightliner Class 86/6s
The company’s Class 86/6 fleet down to just two examples as seven locos are stored.
Service reductions as Covid cases increase
An increase in Covid-19 cases in early January saw the governments in Ireland and Northern Ireland impose stricter lockdown measures that impacted on public transport.
East West Rail funding go-ahead
Although it was expected, £760 million of funding has now been confirmed to build the Western Section of the East West Railway scheme.
Travellers-Fare with Hornby's Mk.1 Restaurant-Buffet car
Hornby expands its range of retooled ‘OO’ gauge Mk.1 coaches with a brand new tooling for the Diagram 24 Restaurant-Buffet car (RB) and the Diagram 33 refurbished version (RBR). It models the vehicles in both original form, finished in BR maroon and Southern Region green, together with the RBR refurbished coaches. They remained in frontline service well into the 1990s, including Cross-Country workings.
Class 92 revolution
Despite its complex shape and high detail ratio compared to other modern six-axle locomotives, Revolution Trains chose the Class 92 to be its first 'N' gauge locomotive model.
Bottling it!
A dig into the Rail Express archive has revealed some rarely-seen photographs of the former rail-connected Express Dairy bottling plant in South West London, which today is the site of a large mosque.
1990s ‘N' gauge Class 950
Work on the ‘N’ gauge Class 950 Track Recording Unit project, a conversion based on a standard Graham Farish Class 150/1 model, is concluded by finishing the model in 1990s condition.
