Transport for London has unveiled its plans for a new fleet of London Tube trains that will be able to function without drivers.
The fleet, which will be composed of a total of 250 trains, will not be operating on the Tube until the middle of 2020.
Once functioning, the trains will have an operator on board. However, the trains will eventually be driverless as they are designed and built for the capability of an operation that is fully automatic.
The driverless trains are part of the "New Tube for London" initiative by London Mayor Boris Johnson. The initiative looks to increase the capacity of the Tube for passengers by thousands of people.
A new kind of technology will allow the air-cooling features that are currently used by the District and Metropolitan lines to be extended to all deep-level lines. The carriages of the new trains will also be "walk-through" carriages featuring wider door that will allow commuters to get on or get off the trains faster.
The new trains will be rolled out in the Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines.
In addition to planned improvements for the Tube, the new carriages will be able to provide London commuters with faster and more reliable transportation services.
Transport for London is investing into the New Tube for London initiative as it prepares for the growth of the population in London. From the current population of 8.4 million people, the number is expected to grow to 10 million people by 2030. The new trains will allow each line of the Tube to increase its capacity, to be able to serve more people in their daily commute.
To illustrate the planned capacity improvements, the Bakerloo and Central are expected to increase their capacity by 25 percent, which is equivalent to 8,000 people and 12,000 people per hour, respectively. The capacity of the Waterloo & City line is expected to increase by 50 percent, while that of the Piccadilly line is expected to increase by 60 percent, increasing the number of people served per hour by 9,000 customers and 19,000 customers, respectively.
After the new trains become operational, they are intended to serve London for 40 years. The Piccadilly line, serving 210 million commuters annually with demand expected to increase 20 percent by 2020, will be prioritized as the first line to feature the new trains.
The designs of the new trains are already on display in a public exhibition in London's King's Cross St. Pancras Underground station.
