As I am once again on yet another useless metropolitan line service I will be escalating this freedom of information act request. Please confirm by return the ‘live date’ for the signaling system so that I can calculate the days and escalate the request as appropriate in accordance with statute.

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TfL Ref: 2003-1920

Thank you for your request received by us on 3 October and in clarification to your request on 10 and 22 October 2019, asking for information about London Underground’s Metropolitan line.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked:

FOI-2268-1920 - Please confirm the date you completed installation of the new signaling system and I will then add the number of days up for you based on my original request

The Metropolitan, District, Hammersmith & City and Circle lines carry 1.3 million passengers per day, accounting for 40 per cent of the Tube network and 25 per cent of overall London Underground ridership. These lines share a lot of track and infrastructure, we are modernising them under a single combined project, Four Lines Modernisation (4LM). This £5.4 billion programme to modernise the signalling on those lines will result in greater capacity and frequency, as well as improved journey times, reliability and customer information. This is the largest single upgrade in the history of the Tube and will transform the overall experience for our customers.

4LM is currently on track to deliver an initial 30 trains per hour service over the south side of the central area in May 2021, with further increases planned to be in service across all lines by May 2023.

On 2 September 2019, a section of new digital signalling was introduced from Latimer Road (Circle and Hammersmith & City lines) to Finchley Road and Euston Square (Metropolitan and Circle lines) and Paddington (Circle, Hammersmith & City and District lines), with trains operating automatically on that section of the route. This was a huge step forward in overhauling the signalling system on some of the oldest and busiest parts of the network.

All Train Operators were fully trained and certified to operate the new signalling system prior to its introduction. However, as part of our commitment to safety, all Train Operators had to be accompanied through the newly-upgraded section by an Instructor Operator the first few times they went through the area. We refer to this as ‘familiarisation’. The need to familiarise Train Operators is why we initially had to operate a reduced service.

On the Metropolitan line there have also been a number of faults unrelated to the new signalling system which have resulted in delays. We recognise the perception from a customer’s point of view that it’s all connected. We review each incident and take action to identify solutions to avoid the faults repeating.

We had undertaken extensive testing during engineering hours and on weekends prior to going live, and we had witnessed good performance of the new signalling system. It was only ongoing running in a live environment that exposed the system’s intricacies that has allowed us to identify remedial actions.

Working closely with our supplier, Thales, and a team of technicians we are delivering a robust package of measures and solutions on the Metropolitan line to tackle delays and prevent disruption. Two software updates are scheduled for end November and mid-January 2020. These will address a number of reliability issues. All actions are subject to rigorous testing and safety approvals. Fixes to this new and complex system need to be carefully developed and tested, and changes to infrastructure or the signalling system can take time whilst we ensure that all our safety processes are followed.

We are confident that this holistic approach will help reduce delays and provide our customers on the Metropolitan line with the level of service they expect. However, fixes to this new and complex system need to be carefully developed and tested, and changes to infrastructure or the signalling system can take time whilst we ensure that all our safety processes are followed.

We are reviewing all the events since the last phase of the signalling upgrade went live at the beginning of September to determine whether we could or should have done anything differently to reduce the impact and length of disruption. We will employ every measure possible to tackle delays effectively and recover service as soon as possible.

Plans are being developed to manage and minimise the impact on the network when the next section of new signalling goes live from Euston Square to Monument and Stepney Green.

The signal installation for the Metropolitan line is not yet complete. On 2 September 2019, we introduced the second of 15 signalling sections, under a phased approach. Upgrade and project works are still ongoing for the next delivery phases of the new signalling system.

As mentioned previously, our £5.4 billion programme to modernise signalling on the Metropolitan, District, Hammersmith & City and Circle lines will result in greater capacity and frequency, as well as considerably improved journey times, reliability and customer information.

FOI-2003-1920

1. From the date of completion of the work to the date of the reply to this request please confirm the total number of days and then respond to the queries below for that specific period:

a) confirm the total number of days.

We are responding to Questions 1a to 1d  below based on 55 Days; 2 September 2019 to 26 October 2019.

b) confirm of that total number of days how many days have had zero signal failures

There were 17 days with no signalling related issues.

c) how many of that total number of days have had train failures / trains taken out of service

A period of 36 days had train (fleet) disruptions within the aforementioned 55 day period during 2 September 2019 to 26 October 2019. Please note that this is in relation to all incidents that have occurred and therefore is inclusive of incidents which are not linked to the new signalling system.

d) confirm of that total number of days how many days have had no disruption to services at all for the whole day, whether that disruption was signal or train failure

There were four days which had neither fleet nor signalling disruptions in the 55 days specified above.

e) confirm of that total number of days how many days the line has run a service as per the published timetable for the whole day

We do not hold this data.

2. Please then provide review the same number of days prior to the installation of the system (I.e if the above total is 40 days look at the 40 days preceding installation) and then answer the following questions:

a) confirm of that total number of days how many days have had zero signal failures

There were 29 days of service with zero signalling related issues in the 55 days prior to 2 September 2019.

b) how many of that total number of days have had train failures / trains taken out of service

I can advise that there were 36 days which had fleet failures during the aforementioned 55 day period provided in response to Question 1a.

c) confirm of that total number of days how many days have had no disruption to services at all for the whole day, whether that disruption was signal or train failure

There were six days that had neither fleet nor signalling disruptions in the 55 days specified previously in response to Question 1a.

d) confirm of that total number of days how many days the line has run a service as per the published timetable for the whole day

We do not hold this information.

Please note that the disruptions referenced above are those reported with a two minute or more delay. This information also does not include delays as a result of disruptions on other lines.

In the meantime, we recognise that this has been a very frustrating time for the public and would like to apologise for the various delays to your journeys.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, 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

Jasmine Howard

FOI Case Officer

Information Governance

Transport For London

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