The UK’s Transport for London (TfL) has awarded Thales a £760m contract to modernise the signalling and train control system on London Underground’s (LU’s) Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines.
The modernisation will bring faster, frequent and more reliable journeys to millions of passengers who use these LU lines.
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As part of this project, approximately 1,100 jobs and 60 apprenticeships will be sustained or created, both in London and across the UK.
The re-signalling of these four lines represents around 40% of the overall LU network.
Work is expected to be initiated later this year, while the first increase in capacity would be on the Circle Line in 2021, with the main benefits of the project to be delivered by 2022, when the peak train frequency would increase to 32 trains per hour in central London.
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The final improvements will be delivered in 2023, with an increase in peak and off-peak frequencies on the Metropolitan Line.
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By GlobalDataLondon Underground managing director Nick Brown said: "Having successfully modernised three of the most heavily used lines on our network, we are ready to begin work to bring the next four lines into the modern era.
"This will transform the journeys of millions of our customers, significantly increasing service reliability and frequency."
The deal replaces a £345m contract which TfL had awarded to Bombardier to re-signal the four lines in June 2011 but the contract was terminated subsequently.
The latest contract represents a significant increase in cost, but according to TfL, it would be 18% less per kilometre compared with the successful modernisation of the Northern Line, which was around half the cost of the Jubilee and Victoria line modernisations delivered under the flawed public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements, ended by the mayor five years ago.
Thales chairman and chief executive officer Patrice Caine said: "Our technology is in operation on over 80 metro lines in 40 of the world’s largest cities, including New York, Dubai, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
"If the Jubilee and Northern lines’ success is any indicator, future travellers on the Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines will experience; faster journeys, reduced overcrowding and increased service reliability.
"Once completed, 60% of the London Underground will have been modernised using Thales signalling technology."
The overall budget for the four line modernisation programme has been confirmed as £5.41bn, which represents a reduction of £131m compared with an earlier estimate announced in March.
The budget includes investment in 191 new modern, air-conditioned, walkthrough trains, which are already introduced on the Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith & City and District lines.
The project also includes further improvements to get the most out of the new trains, including new track, lengthened platforms and rebuilt train depots with advanced technology to ensure the highest levels of train reliability.
Image: TfL confirms 40% of tube network set for major boost in capacity. Photo: courtesy of Thales Group.
