LONDON Underground infrastructure concessionaire Tube Lines announced on October 2 that it had awarded a £300m contract to Alcatel for resignalling of the Jubilee and Northern lines. Installation of SelTrac S40 communications-based train control is expected to increase ’capability’ by 22% on the Jubilee line by 2009 and 18% on the Northern line in 2011. The
71/2-year deal also includes an option for the Piccadilly line where design work would start in 2005.
The contract covers 37route-km, 27 stations and 63 trainsets on the Jubilee line, plus 58route-km, 50 stations and 106 trains on the Northern line. Tube Lines will invest another £170m on ’engineering expertise and infrastructure changes’, including new control and equipment rooms, track alterations, test facilities, project management and other enabling costs.
Tube Lines has already ordered an extra 59 cars from Alstom to lengthen the existing Jubilee line trains from six to seven vehicles in 2006, increasing capacity by 17%. The €143m contract also includes four additional seven-car trainsets (RG 7.03 p422).
