Improving District and Piccadilly line reliability

17 September 2015
Major rail junction replacement will improve reliability of District and Piccadilly lines
"When the junction re-opens, it will be immediately more reliable and trains will be able to travel faster through it. District line customers will see more and more new trains over the next year, followed by a complete modernisation of the line's signalling that will radically improve journeys"
David Waboso
Director of Capital Programmes, London Underground
  • Hanger Lane rail junction to be modernised in October
  • Work will ensure the junction is more reliable and trains will run faster
  • Forms part of complete modernisation of four Tube lines

A major rail junction will be replaced next month to improve reliability on both the District and Piccadilly lines.

London Underground (LU) engineers and contractors will completely renew and realign the Hanger Lane junction to make it faster, smoother and more reliable for the thousands of customers who travel through the area each day.

The junction rebuild involves breaking out and renewing track and signalling over nine days from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November. During the work the District line will need to close between Ealing Broadway and Turnham Green, with the Piccadilly line closing from Acton Town to Uxbridge on the two weekends during the period. Other Tube services will continue to serve the area, as will rail replacement and local bus services. TfL will publicise the closure and alternative routes to customers to minimise disruption and keep them up to date.

Innovative use of modern installation techniques means the work will be done in two halves, rather than all at once, allowing the Piccadilly line to remain open on weekdays. In the past the new points, which are moving sections of track that allow trains to change from one line to another, would have been installed all at once, closing both lines throughout the work.

LU will take full advantage of the closure of the District line section to carry out other essential work at Ealing Broadway, preparing for the full modernisation of the line. Engineers will also replace an additional 330 metres of track, making the entire area more reliable, with a smoother ride.

During the closure there will be some changes to transport services:

  • The District line will not run between Ealing Broadway and Turnham Green. But the Central line will continue to serve Ealing Broadway every day as normal
  • The Piccadilly line will run as normal on weekdays, providing alternative Tube routes from Ealing Common and Acton Town
  • The Piccadilly line will close between Acton Town and Uxbridge on the weekends of 24/25 October and 31 October/1 November
  • Trains will not run from Chiswick Park Underground station throughout, but it will be open to serve customers with tickets and information
  • Rail replacement buses will serve Ealing Broadway, Ealing Common, Acton Town and Chiswick Park throughout the work, supplementing existing local bus routes
  • LU will run 50 per cent more District line services to Richmond to serve the semi-finals and final of the Rugby World Cup on 24, 25 and 31 October

The work forms part of the next phase of the Underground's modernisation, bringing faster, more frequent and more reliable journeys to millions of Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan line passengers. Customers are already seeing a new fleet of air-conditioned trains being introduced, which will all be in service by the end of 2016. Work will soon begin on new signalling and control systems for the four lines, with the improvements together boosting capacity by an average of a third.

David Waboso, LU's Director of Capital Programmes, said:

'Our engineers and contractors will be working around the clock to replace this complex junction. I am sorry for the disruption to customers during the closure, which we will keep as short as possible. When the junction re-opens, it will be immediately more reliable and trains will be able to travel faster through it. District line customers will see more and more new trains over the next year, followed by a complete modernisation of the line's signalling that will radically improve journeys.'

 

Notes to Editors:

  • Hanger Lane rail junction is where the Ealing Broadway branch of the District line divides from the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly line
  • The work does not affect Hanger Lane Underground station
  • During the closure, three fewer off peak trains will run each hour on the District line between Turnham Green and Barking
  • Following the work, trains will be able to run faster and more smoothly through the junction. Points failures will be much less frequent, meaning fewer delays to customers and more reliable journeys through Ealing and Chiswick
  • The current Hanger Lane railway junction was built in 1984 and the poor condition of the ground on which it rests requires frequent maintenance and leads to repeated points failures, causing delays to District and Piccadilly line customers