Request ID: FOI-3672-2324 Date published: 13 February 2024
You asked
Please can you provide the following statistics on the central line
Number of days containing any disruption including
1) Signal Failure
2) Points Failure
3) Overhead Wire Damage
4) Broken or Damaged Rail
5) Industrial Action
6) Weather related issues not related to issues above.
7) Lack of trains
8) Other issues, please specify
Please exclude any days with delays caused by fatalities on the track, unless they are on the same day as issues above which occurred on the same day.
Time period 1) latest 12 months of data available.
Time period 2) the same months used above but between 2018-2019 (e.g. Nov 22 - Oct 23 would use Nov 18 - Oct 19
We answered
TfL Ref: 3672-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 17 January 2024 asking for information about the Central 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 the information you require.
Over the last year, we have seen an increase in the number of unavailable trains on the line for customer service. This is mostly due to the age of the train and the need for essential repair works to keep the trains going. Trains have also been removed from service to support the delivery of the Central Line Improvement Programme (CLIP). Since late 2023, we have experienced an abnormally high number of traction motor failures on our Central line trains. When this happens, we have no choice but to withdraw the affected train from service and replace the damaged traction motor with one that has been repaired.
Our engineers are urgently working to repair and overhaul the damaged motors, but this is a complex process undertaken by highly skilled, specialist technicians and the removal and refitting of every motor requires the 30-year-old train to be separated and the affected carriages lifted.
Alongside the repair work, we have put in place additional arrangements to increase our supply of spare motors. This will allow us to start to rebuild some resilience and improve services over the coming weeks, reducing the number of trains out-of-service and allowing us to return trains to customer service more quickly.
While this should help improve services for customers, the motor failures are still occurring at a higher rate than we’ve seen before so some disruption to normal service levels is likely to continue. We are continuing to work urgently to identify further solutions, keeping our customers and stakeholders updated. In the meantime, customers should continue to allow more time for their journeys, check before travelling and consider using alternative routes to or through central London. We are also investing in the fleet in the long-term via CLIP. This £500m programme will boost future reliability by replacing the train’s ageing Direct Current traction system with a modern, digitally controlled, equivalent that uses simple Alternating Current (AC) motors, as well as providing wheelchair bays, better customer information systems, CCTV in carriages and new seating. The first completely refurbished train is now in customer service.
You asked:
Please can you provide the following statistics on the central line Number of days containing any disruption including 1) Signal Failure 2) Points Failure 3) Overhead Wire Damage 4) Broken or Damaged Rail 5) Industrial Action 6) Weather related issues not related to issues above. 7) Lack of trains 8) Other issues, please specify Please exclude any days with delays caused by fatalities on the track, unless they are on the same day as issues above which occurred on the same day. Time period 1) latest 12 months of data available. Time period 2) the same months used above but between 2018-2019 (e.g. Nov 22 - Oct 23 would use Nov 18 - Oct 19
Please see the Excel files attached for the data requested. We also included explanatory notes on a separate tab. Please note that the central line does not have overhead line wires.
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
Sara Thomas FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
