"91061-Epping-20090511" by Janderk1968 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
The Rail and Underground Panel of the TfL board is planning to refurbish the Central Line's 1992 Tube stock trains.
As part of the Heavy Overhaul Programme Lift (HOPL), their purpose is to refurbish the Central Line trains which are currently 20 years old.
The Central Line fleet comprises 85 trains and 680 cars, which makes it the largest in London Underground operation.
The cost of the project is expected to be around £123.16 million and will be presented to the TFL board by March 2015.
The mechanisms and system of the 1992 tube stock to be upgraded are: Braking, Traction/Propulsion, Doors, Car body, Bogie/Suspension, Couplings, Undergrame, Auxiliaries, Heating & Ventilation, Ait Supply, Electrical Distribution, Fault Recording Equipment, Automatic Train Control, Communications, Shoegear and De-icing equipment.
Their first unit (2 cars) is to enter refurbishment on 1st June 2015, then 25% of the fleet to be upgraded and refurbished by 15th January 2015; half of the fleet completed by 13th May 2016 and finally the entire fleet by 1st August 2017.
You may be interested to know that back in 1988 it was the £700 million (£750 million a few years later) scheme which upgraded the Central Line with new 1992 stock trains, you can see the news report from Thames News here.
The length of the Central Line is 46 miles/74 km, it serves 49 Tube stations and their 2011/12 ridership is 260.916 million passenger journeys.
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