The London Mayor Boris Johnson and TfL have today unveiled the designs for the next generation of Tube trains, which are set to come into service in the mid-2020s.
The designs have been put together by TfL and transport design specialists PriestmanGoode and will be on display as part of a public exhibition at the labyrinthine King's Cross St Pancras Underground station until mid-November.
Initially the snazzy new trains will roll out across the Piccadilly line, followed by the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo
& City lines. They will feature improved accessibility, wider doors, walk-through carriages (a bit like those on the London Overground, we imagine).
"These innovative, eye-catching and sleek new trains will be vital for the continued modernisation of London Underground," said Johnson in a statement. "New Tube marks a significant step forward in giving Londoners and visitors the accessible and modern transport service that they expect and deserve. These beautiful, air-cooled machines represent the best of British design and innovation."
The air conditioning is something all Londoners will be thrilled about -- especially on the Central Line, where temperatures of around 35 degrees have been recorded in the height of summer.
There will be 250 of the new trains chugging across London in total and, though initially they will have a human operator on board, they will be capable of operating automatically. Not only will they be faster and reduce delays due to the fact they are more reliable, but they will also increase passenger capacity across the network.
On the Central and Bakerloo lines capacity will be increased by 25 percent, on the Waterloo & City lines it will be increased by 50 percent and the Piccadilly line will see capacity increased by a whopping 60 percent -- the equivalent of 19,000 customers per hour.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
