22.12.15
Bombardier delivers last of 191 S-Stock Tube trains
Bombardier has finished producing the last of the 191 S-Stock trains ordered by London Underground (LU) as part of the UK’s largest rolling stock contract to date.
The new fleet for LU’s modernisation programme on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines consists of 1,395 vehicles: 58 eight-car S8 units for the Metropolitan line and 133 seven-car S7 units for the other three lines.
The companies celebrated the finished order last Friday at Bombardier’s Derby plant, during which LU’s managing director, Nick Brown, said: “Our new trains have proved an instant hit with our customers and it’s easy to see why.
“With air-conditioning, more space, improved accessibility and better customer information systems, they are a major part of the vital modernisation of the [four Tube lines]. LU’s successful relationship with Bombardier creates thousands of jobs in the UK and is providing superb new services for our customers.”
The S-Stock trains – designed to gradually replace existing fleets on the four lines, including the D-Stock currently being re-used by Vivarail – bring increased capacity to the Underground (25% more for the Circle line, for example) and enhanced accessibility and comfort.
The fleet was even voted one of the top 10 transport designs in the capital, despite running against well-established icons from more than a century ago.
As well as air-conditioning and more spacious, walk-through carriages, the new trains also provide “significant energy savings” from regenerative braking. They need less frequent maintenance (reducing ongoing costs), are more reliable and are averaging in excess of 60,000km between failures that affect the service.
Per Allmer, head of Western Europe, Middle East and Africa region at Bombardier, said: “With the successful completion of this new SSL (sub-surface lines) fleet, together with our previous build of the new Victoria Line trains, we have no delivered more than 1,700 vehicles to LU since 2009 and amassed over two million engineering hours’ experience.
“As the only supplier currently providing air-conditioned stock on the Tube, we’re keen to capitalise on this experience in the future.”
The last S-Stock train is expected to enter into service on the District line in 2016, four years after the first of the S7 stock began operating to Barking.
Bombardier was also the original contractor to resignal the four sub-surface lines, but when it became clear it could not deliver the contract, it was re-tendered and awarded to Thales instead.
Elsewhere on the Underground, 250 new trains will be rolled out on the Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines, under the New Tube for London programme, although the invitation to tender for these seems to have been delayed for a second time.
In TfL’s latest budget, the mayor said preparation work will be underway for the Piccadilly trains contract in 2016-17. It also stated that work to deliver the New Tube for London programme will “increase significantly” then, including work beginning to upgrade infrastructure on the Piccadilly line to support the new power and signalling systems when introduced.
The budget for the New Tube upgrade will increase considerably from 2016-17 onwards – from £30m next year to £206m by 2018-19.