FOI request detail

Signal Failures

Request ID: FOI-4992-1718
Date published: 30 April 2018

You asked

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I request the following information: How many signal failures were recorded on the London Underground between: • 1st January 2015 and 31st December 2015 • 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2016 • 1st January 2017 and 31st December 2017 • and so far in 2018? This information would need to be broken down to make it clear the number of signal failures on each line during these time periods.

We answered

Dear

Our ref: FOI-4992-1718

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 24 March 2018. Please accept my apologies for the delay.

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. You asked:

How many signal failures were recorded on the London Underground between:

  • 1st January 2015 and 31st December 2015
  • 1st January 2016 and 31st December 2016
  • 1st January 2017 and 31st December 2017
  • and so far in 2018?

This information would need to be broken down to make it clear the number of signal failures on each line during these time periods.

Please find the requested information in the table below;

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Please note that for the Jubilee and Northern lines, that do not have individual signals in the true sense of the word, the figures relate to a fault or failure of the signaling system.

There is a variety of signalling systems in use on the Underground network, with some dating back to the 1950s but some having gone into use in 2012. The differences in technology across the network present significant challenges in ensuring signal reliability, but we are tackling this problem in a number of ways.

The Four Lines Modernisation programme will transform the signalling on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. The change to computer-based signalling will improve the speed and frequency of trains, and will also make both the signals and trains perform more reliably. The £5.4bn programme will make a huge difference to 40 per cent of the Tube network, boosting capacity and making journeys quicker.

New signalling will also be introduced onto the Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines as part of the upgrade of Deep Tube Upgrade Programme, which is scheduled to deliver benefits in the 2020s.

We have also created a team as part of our organisational change whose sole focus is working on signalling issues. We will continue to work on maintenance across many different aspects of ensuring reliability on the network, but this new team will work to drive reliability and make sure that our customers’ priorities are at the forefront of all work we undertake to improve and maintain signals.

Please note that we also regularly publish data on our website the number of signal failures that resulted in a delay of over two minutes: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/underground-services-performance.

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

Eva Hextall

FOI Case Officer

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