The Piccadilly line could have driverless trains by 2023

Anyone who's experienced the insane delays on the Piccadilly line the last few weeks is probably in need of some good news. No, it's not fixed yet, but Sadiq Khan has got a plan for the future of the Piccadilly line – and it involves driverless trains.

At Mayor’s Question Time last night, the Mayor confirmed that the new Piccadilly line trains are expected to be in action from 2023, and are likely to be driverless. He said that it didn't make sense to invest in trains that weren’t ‘future-proof’, which sounds a bit ominous.

The Piccadilly line is the fourth busiest line on the tube network, and it's definitely in need of an upgrade seeing as certain Piccadilly trains haven't had a facelift since 1973.

The delays that have been plaguing commuters since the end of November are due to wheel damage to the old trains, which don't have the same protection as newer trains on the Circle, Hammersmith and City and District lines.

Sadiq also didn't pass up the chance to point out Boris Johnson's role in slowing down these plans while he was Mayor. He said: 'Unlike the previous Mayor, I won't delay this any further'.

In spite of the delays over the last few weeks, the night tube service for the Piccadilly line is still due to start tomorrow. But you'll have to wait a while for those driverless trains.

Photo: Anatoleya/Flickr

In other news, you'll soon be able to buy tube-inspired chocolate bars.

And here are four things we just learned about Crossrail.