I’ve been scrolling through the UK Government’s Find a Tender website. It caught my eye that Transport for London (TfL) has published a preliminary market engagement (PME) notice for the Bakerloo Line upgrade.
Text from UK Government Find a Tender:
The Bakerloo Line runs through London from Harrow & Wealdstone, in the North, to Elephant & Castle in the centre with plans to extend South as part of the Bakerloo Line Extension initiative. The Bakerloo line fleet (72 Tube Stock) is now the oldest rolling stock operating in the UK with considerable costs to life-extend the fleet and significant risks to reduction in reliability. TfL therefore intends to introduce the new rolling stock onto the Bakerloo Line. The BLU Stage 1 Infrastructure works are required modify and upgrading the line's infrastructure to enable the introduction of the new rolling stock with the works expected to completed by, circa 2034. The core elements of the scope include:
• Reconstructing Stonebridge Park Depot to consolidate all maintenance activities.
• Expanding Queen's Park Area to deliver additional stabling capacity.
• Modifying London Road Sidings to retain and minimally adapt existing facilities for continued stabling usage, as well as introducing a Driver's Training Facility.
• Waysides works to ensure the line's power supply, signalling systems and potentially gauging is compliant with the new rolling stock.
This is a refinement of the scope presented during TfL's previous 2024 BLU Early Market Engagement with the current scope having moved the cleaning shed from London Road to Stonebridge Park and no longer required the cleaning shed at the front end of the programme. .
A high-level summary of assets within the scope of this works is provided below:
• DC Power
• HV Power
• LV power supply
• Stations & Property
• Platform Train Interface
• Civils & Structures
• Track
• Signalling & communications
• Depot maintenance sheds, fan roads & Stabling
TfL are currently envisioning three competitions to deliver the scope. These three competitions are to appoint a:
1. Depots and Sidings Partner
2. Waysides Partner
3. Integrator
Contract dates (estimated)
9 July 2027 to 8 December 2034
7 years, 5 months
Engagement deadline
10 March 2026
Engagement process description
TfL previously carried out preliminary market engagement (PME) for the Bakerloo Line Upgrade (BLU) programme in 2024 to engage the market to establish appetite and seek feedback on emerging approaches or alternative/innovative delivery methodologies for the proposed BLU depot, sidings and wayside works that would enable the new fleet introduction. This early market engagement following the publication of a PIN notice included a Supplier Industry Day and a Market Sounding Questionnaire Activity. Following the feedback from these PME activities, TfL has refined its strategic approach to the BLU Programme. TfL now wishes to recommence its early market engagement to provide the market an update on the BLU programme and to further seek market expertise to finalise the shaping of the planned procurement. TfL is particularly interested in supplier feedback on TfL's newly developed delivery model which is intended to drive improvements, capture construction efficiencies, reduce costs, seek innovative techniques to reduce carbon and improve whole life costs.
It is anticipated that the recommenced preliminary market engagement process will involve the following four activities.
1. 1:1 Delivery Model Supplier Sessions
2. Supplier Industry Day
3. Document Feedback
4. 1:1 Programme Supplier Sessions
Read More
The notice makes it clear that the 1972 Tube Stock is now the oldest rolling stock in the UK, and frankly, the need for modern trains is well overdue. This Stage 1 infrastructure work is the essential groundwork for that new fleet, focusing on a massive overhaul of the Stonebridge Park Depot and essential wayside works to modernise signalling and power. While the estimated completion date of 2034 feels quite a way off, it’s encouraging to see TfL refining their delivery model to move towards a formal procurement phase.
I hope to see that TfL gets the Bakerloo line upgrade going as soon as possible, along with the first phase of the extension to Lewisham. It is vital that we get the cogs moving now; delaying such a critical project only invites more frequent and expensive failures. Relying on rolling stock that has been in service since the early seventies is a massive gamble; at this stage, we are simply throwing good money after bad to keep the line operational.
It's like a cogwheel that is old and rusty, they just paint and repair it instead of replacing it. When it gets completely broken, the whole mechanism is broken. This is the current situation here.
The 2026 TfL Business Plan confirms that these "rusty cogs" are finally being addressed, with the plan allocating an initial £24 million this year, ramping up to £456 million by 2029/30 to replace the entire fleet.
Leaving the problem for too long will prove incredibly costly, as maintenance for these 54-year-old trains already exceeds £500 million in projected costs just to reach the mid-2030s. Meanwhile, official reports from the London Assembly and Southwark Council estimate the full extension to Lewisham at between £5 billion and £8.7 billion. Delivering these upgrades as soon as possible is the only way to move beyond this cycle of constant weld repairs and ensure the line doesn't reach a point of total mechanical failure before the new fleet even arrives.
I would like to extend an invite for you to follow me on X (formerly Twitter) for transport-related updates. You can find me by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my X page here. I am also present on BlueSky and Mastodon. I look forward to connecting with you on these platforms. Thank you for your support.
