I would like access to all of the reports completed by yourselves on the cause of all incidents where a minor or severe delay has been reported on the Metropolitan Line. I would like these covering the period of 1st October 2019 to date.

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Our Ref:         FOI-2804-1920

Thank you for your request received on 16 December 2019 asking for information about the delays on the 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 we do hold the information you require.

The Four Lines Modernisation programme is a £5.4 billion project to modernise the trains, track and signalling on the oldest parts of the Underground – the Metropolitan, District, Hammersmith & City and Circle lines. This work will improve journeys on 40 per cent of the Tube network, and is the largest single upgrade in the history of the Underground. It will result in greater capacity and improved frequency, as well as improved journey times, better reliability and better customer information.

Customers have already seen the benefits of the brand new walk-through air conditioned trains.

On 2 September 2019, a section of new digital signalling was introduced on the District, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines, from Latimer Road to Finchley Road and Euston Square, with trains operating automatically on those sections of the route. Despite extensive testing prior to going live, while running the new software with the trains in a live environment we have experienced software reliability issues which have resulted in a number of incidents of disruption for our customers.

To address these problems we are working closely with our supplier and a team of technicians. The work involves modifications to part of the signal communication system on the trains, modifications to some of the track-side infrastructure and a further software upgrade by our key supplier – whilst all the time placing safety as the priority. We appreciate the continued patience of our customers while we work to deliver long-term improvements to their service. .

Please find the requested information attached.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
[email protected]

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