Piccadilly line to partially close ahead of new trains

The Piccadilly line will partially close for two weeks in August for track and platform upgrades before new trains arrive.

Transport for London (TfL) said the line, which runs from Heathrow to Cockfosters, is to receive 94 new trains from next year.

They will be the first deep trains be fitted with air-conditioning.

The part-closures, on weekends in July and August and a 16-day stretch ending on 1 September, will be covered by rail replacement buses.

The routes affected will be those from Wood Green to Cockfosters and Rayners Lane to Uxbridge.

The new trains, part of a £2.9bn investment to modernise one of the capital’s deepest and oldest lines, will feature walk-through carriages, wider double doorways for accessibility, and on-train CCTV cameras – as well as the new air-conditioning.

TfL said the work would renew infrastructure, points and crossings in the Arnos Grove area, as well as work to prepare sidings for the trains in the Cockfosters area.