What year did London Underground stop using asbestos brake pads in trains?
Request ID: FOI-0499-2223 Date published: 17 June 2022
You asked
Please would it be possible to know what year Asbestos brake pads were banned on London Underground trains?
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-0499-2223
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 31st May 2022 asking for information about the use of asbestos brake pads.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“Please would it be possible to know what year Asbestos brake pads were banned on London Underground trains?”.
The supply of brake pads and brake shoes containing chrysotile asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999. Although the ban came into force in 1999 we believe that London Underground stopped using them well in advance of that date. Note further that London Underground has been undertaking asbestos removal work since as far back as the early 1980s.
If this is not the information you are looking for please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
