Skip to content

Piccadilly line train fleet repairs near completion

BBC A wheel with indentations BBC
Piccadilly line trains have been affected by "wheel flats" which happen when the brakes are applied and the wheels slide causing erosion

Piccadilly line passengers should see the service return to normal by the end of January as repairs to the fleet of trains are almost complete.

The line has been suffering from long delays between trains and the closure of the line between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge stations due to heavy leaf fall.

Nearly all of the Piccadilly line trains have been affected by "wheel flats" which happen when the brakes are applied and the wheels slide causing erosion.

At the moment, 60 trains are being used on the line, 15 short of the number needed to run a full service. There are 86 trains in the Piccadilly line fleet.

An engineer in white overalls is crouched down working on a wheel with a spanner.
Repairs are being made to the trains

No 'anti-slide' technology

The trains on the Piccadilly line are over 50 years old and do not have "anti-slide" technology on their wheels. It is not a new problem, with the line suffering from the same issue in 2016.

Every "wheel flat" has to be smoothed out by a lathe. It takes about a day to repair one train.

A new fleet with better braking technology is being tested at the moment and should be in service by the end of 2025.

The rim of a metal train wheel where one section has worn away, showing vertical scratches on it.
Every "wheel flat" has to be smoothed out by a lathe

Marc Perry, the fleet manager on the Piccadilly line, says wheel flats can damage tracks and are unsafe.

He said: "These markings on the wheels are caused by lack of rail adhesion.

"So as trains are running outside, if they go into the braking position and get low adhesion and the wheels lock - our trains don't have protection - and so they lock and start to slide.

"It's metal on metal and cause the flat."

Two engineers working on a train bogey. The photo shows one man wearing a white jacket lower down on the train tracks and on the platform another man wearing a fluorescent jacket is working on the top section of the train bogey. In the background are metal work tables placed alongside each other.
Repairs are being carried out at Cockfosters depot

Richard Jones, from Transport for London, said long-term new trains would solve the problem.

"The trains we are using currently on the Piccadilly line are 50-year-old trains," he said.

"The systems that we have on them they are very prone to getting wheel flats during what we call low adhesion conditions.

"The new trains that we will get, that we will be rolling out over the next few years, they have got those protection systems built in which will make them a lot less vulnerable to the whole issue of wheel flats."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]

Related internet links