All the upgrades and new services coming to London’s transport network in 2025

2024 was a big year for London transport. We saw the continued launch of the Superloop, brand-new ‘tram-buses’ were introduced, and the Overground went through a grand renaming. But what’s in store for 2025? We might be dreading tube fares going up in March, but that extra money is (hopefully) going to go towards some new and improved Transport for London services.

Here are all the new travel options Londoners can look forward to in 2025. 

New eco buses 

London’s biggest bus company, Go-Ahead, has already ordered 1,000 more electric buses for the capital, and a load of those are set to come into service from Orpington Garage from early 2025. The R1, R3, R4 and R8 routes, as well as route 233 between Eltham and Swanley, will all be getting an environmentally friendly makeover. 

The return of direct Eurostar trains from St Pancras to Amsterdam

The London-Amsterdam Eurostar was paused for nearly a year in 2024, with passengers having to change in Brussels to get to the Netherlands, but this direct service will be making a comeback from February 10. The service will be paused again briefly from March 30, but it will resume as normal from the end of April. 

The Silvertown Tunnel

The long-awaited, and controversial, new tunnel between Silvertown (in Newham) and Greenwich is finally opening in spring 2025. The £2.2 billion tunnel for motorists and cyclists will charge vehicles a toll of £4 each way during peak hours.

The final Superloop bus route

After the Silvertown Tunnel opens, the SL4 Superloop leg – from Canary Wharf to Grove Park – can start running.

The Orbit Clipper 

The UK’s first all-electric ferry service is coming to London in 2025, as the Orbit Clipper will start ferrying passengers between Canary Wharf and Rotherhithe from March. It hopes to carry 20,000 passengers every weekday.

The Lizzie line will get a new operator 

From May 2025, GTS Rail Operations Limited, a joint venture between Go Ahead Group, Tokyo Metro and Sumitomo Corporation, will take over the running of the Elizabeth line. 

The end of Santander Cycles 

In May Santander’s sponsorship of TfL’s cycle hire scheme is due to come to an end. It could see London’s bikes-for-hire rebranded with a new sponsor, but nothing is confirmed yet. 

Zero emissions vehicles will have to pay the congestion charge

From December 25, electric vehicle drivers will no longer be exempt from paying the congestion charge, meaning they will have to fork out £15 per day. 

New Piccadilly line trains 

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. At the end of 2025 the new Piccadilly line trains will finally come into service. The dark blue line’s new designs were first revealed in 2021, with wider doors and walk-through, air-conditioned carriages, so this feels like a long time coming. There are 94 trains in total, and the full fleet won’t be rolled out until 2027, which means years of excitement. 

New DLR trains 

The new air-conditioned DLR trains have been ‘delayed indefinitely’, but that doesn’t mean they won’t come into service in 2025. We’ll have to wait and see. 

The 5 biggest, most-read London news stories of 2024 on Time Out. 

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