London Underground trains to be have new traction equipment

LONDON Underground (LU) has awarded a £112.1m contract to Bombardier to refit its fleet of 85 eight-car Central line trains with new ac traction motors and control equipment.

Bombardier will replace the existing dc traction motors with its Mitrac ac traction systems and traction control equipment. The “92 Tube Stock” operating on the Central Line are the last LU trains to use dc traction motors. The new traction equipment should reduce energy consumption and improve reliability and performance.

The contract, which runs until 2024, includes maintenance support and is part of LU’s Central Line Improvement Programme (Clip) which is expected to significantly reduce failures on the Central Line fleet.

“The Central line is one of the busiest and most important lines on the London Underground network,” says Mr Mark Wild, LU’s managing director. “We are making a number of improvements to reduce delays and make the line more reliable for our customers. Installing new motors is one of the most important parts of this work, and will mean we can deliver a more reliable service to our customers, which will in turn boost capacity.”