The new Siemens factory is set to open this spring with the first tube trains being ready to enter service next year

A new Piccadilly Line train running on a test track (credit Siemens)

A factory in Yorkshire is gearing up to build scores of new Piccadilly Line trains that will begin entering service from next year.

German company Siemens Mobility is in the final stages of fitting out the new train factory in Goole where up to 80% of the new tube trains will be produced, which is an increase from the original 50% figure. The remaining trains are already being built in Austria.

The factory, which is due to open this spring, is part of a wider “rail village” where up to £200m is being invested and up to 700 jobs will be created, along with up to 1,700 opportunities in the supply chain. It may also be used to build new Bakerloo Line trains in future.

The new walk-through and air-conditioned Piccadilly Line trains are due to begin entering service next year, while also providing a capacity boost to the route.

Sambit Banerjee, joint CEO of Siemens Mobility, said: “For the first time Siemens Mobility will assemble trains here, in Britain. This is a truly exciting milestone not just for us but the industry and local economies as a whole. And the fact that we will be increasing the amount up to 80% of Piccadilly Line tube trains being assembled in Goole is a testament of our manufacturing capabilities.”

Stuart Harvey, Transport for London’s chief capital officer, said: “Producing more Piccadilly Line trains in Goole will support local supply chains, clearly demonstrating how investment in transport in London benefits the whole of the UK. We have ensured that this development will not impact when the first train arrives for testing in London later this year, ahead of entering service in 2025, nor the planned timetable uplift in 2027.”

The first Piccadilly Line train has been delivered from Goole’s sister factory in Vienna and has been undergoing extensive testing by Siemens Mobility’s engineers at a test track in Germany ahead of the first train arriving in London this summer. TfL will then carry out further infrastructure testing and integration before the new trains start entering passenger service in London in 2025.

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