LONDON Underground PPP contractor Tube Lines announced on January 29 that it had awarded Thales a ?160m contract extension covering the resignalling of the Piccadilly Line. Thales took over contracts to supply Seltrac signalling to the Jubilee and Northern lines when it acquired Alcatel-Lucent’s transport activities at the end of 2006. Testing to adapt Seltrac to London conditions is underway (RG 1.06 p145). The Jubilee and Northern lines are expected to switch over to Seltrac in 2009 and 2011, with the Piccadilly Line to follow in 2014. Tube Lines says resignalling the Piccadilly Line will give a 20% increase in capacity when combined with the introduction of a fleet of new trains, for which expressions of interest were invited from potential suppliers during January. The PPP commits Tube Lines to replacing the existing fleet of 86 six-car trains of 1972 stock by 2014, and the notice in the Official Journal puts the order at up to 90 sets. The value is estimated at ?600m, with the contract expected to be awarded by the end of next year. n

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