The Jubilee line is set to get an upgrade that will see the number of trains running through the line during the peak times rise to 36 per hour by 2019. At the moment, the peak rate in 30 trains per hour (tph).
The line has only recently completed an upgrade from 27 trains per hour at peak to hit 30 trains, and even then only for 90 minutes during the rush hour.
The line is however currently constrained to 30tph by the number of trains available and by the current infrastructure, such as stabling and train maintenance facilities, power and ventilation assets.
In its latest finance meeting, TfL approved £32.4 million to be spent on design works for a further upgrade, which will see power, ventilation and depot enabling works. The concept design stage will be completed by January 2016 and the early implementation items will be in beneficial use by June 2018.
The funding is also practically agreed, as it fits within the existing £253 million 2015/16 business plan.
The feasibility study and business case analysis concluded that the preferred
option is to provide an enhanced train service with the following operating
scenario:
(a) 36tph three hour peak service between West Hampstead and North Greenwich during the morning and evening peaks; and (b) increased off peak service from 24tph to 27tph between Willesden Green and Stratford.
There is a fallback option to deliver a 34.3tph peak service if it is evident during the
next stage of project development that 36tph is likely to be unreliable.
The infrastructure upgrades include some obvious issues with power supplies, signalling and depots, and also stabling at Stanmore/Stratford stations — but also upgrades to the fans along the tunnels to extract the extra heat that more trains would dump into the tunnels.
In addition to upgrades to the infrastructure to support more trains, they’ll need more trains. Ten more trains in fact. So the proposal is to buy some, as a separate project, but linked to the Northern Line extension, which also needs some more trains to be bought.
Bulk buying like this should reduce the cost per train slightly, and the new trains will see some modest upgrades over the current Jubilee line trains.
The first phase is likely to be completed by early 2016, when final authority will be sought for the full upgrade and trains to be ordered.
If all goes as planned, June 2018 is when more trains should start appearing on the Jubilee Line — which is coincidentally just a few months ahead of when Crossrail should also start serving central London.