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These days the tube doesn’t seem like the old faithful it once was. Over the past months the Underground has been plagued by strikes and station closures, and what the heck is even going on with the Central line? And now it’s been announced that more tube strife is on the way, as the Piccadilly line is going to close later this year.
It’s not all bad news though. We might be saying goodbye to the Piccadilly for a short while, but it’s only so the navy blue line can get some vital upgrades and new trains with... drumroll please... air conditioning. Finally! The Piccadilly makeover is costing a grand total of £2.9 billion, so we have high expectations for the grand reveal. You can get a sneak peek of the new trains and carriages here.
An exact date for the line closures hasn’t been confirmed yet. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said TfL is currently deciding when the service will shut. Khan told the London Assembly: ‘In preparing for the new Piccadilly line trains there will be closures on the line for both infrastructure enhancements and testing the new trains. The dates of these closures are being agreed at the moment.
‘An integrated customer communications plan is also being developed. Customers can sign up for email updates related to closures on the TfL website’
Images of the dark blue line’s walk-through, driverless trains were first revealed in November 2023, but the trains themselves are not likely to come into service until 2025. TfL also plans to increase the number of trains on the line by 2027, meaning they will be more frequent.
We’ll keep you updated when we know more about when the Piccadilly line will be closing.
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