Mind the Gap -- Transport for London has lifted the lid on its new-look Underground trains, which will sport a Robocop-esque glowing front, as well as air-cooled interiors.
London Underground is planning to build 250 of the new trains, which will offer air cooling, step-free access from platforms, wider doors and no gaps between carriages. A fly-through video, embedded below, also suggests the new trains will be loaded with video screens, which could show useful travel information, as well as, inevitably, annoying moving-picture ads.
The bad news is that the new trains won't be rolling into stations for quite some time, yet. Transport for London says the first trains are expected to come into service in 2022. The new trains will also only be deployed on specific lines. There will be 100 trains for the Piccadilly line, 100 for the Central line, 40 for the Bakerloo line and 10 for the Waterloo & City line.
The honour of building these trains will fall to one of five companies, who will bid for the rights to construct the swanky new public transport. Alstom, Siemens, Hitachi, CAF and Bombardier are the firms in the running.
"The faster, more frequent and more reliable services it will enable will help us keep pace with London's growing population," Mike Brown, managing director of London Underground said in a press release. "The design respects the past but also looks to the future with the very latest technology; including walk-through carriages and wider doors to enable people to get on and off quickly and air-cooling for the first time on the deep level lines."
New Tube for London designed by PriestmanGoode. from Priestmangoode on Vimeo.