Transport for LondonCircle line
Circle line Manager Pete Allaway
We've closed a section of the Circle line this weekend because of work to improve Liverpool Street station for you.
It's being prepared for Crossrail, but the work does mean trains can't travel through the top section of the Circle line.
We appreciate it may disrupt your journey, but it's all part of the plan to upgrade the Tube.
What's going on?
Our upgrade of the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines includes the oldest section of the Tube - from Paddington to Farringdon - which is nearly 150 years old.
To limit disruption, we've planned the upgrade to these lines in three stages: a new route, spacious new air-conditioned trains, and a new signalling system that will make journeys smoother and more reliable.
New signalling
In July 2011, we agreed a new contract - our biggest ever - to deliver a new, modern, centralised system on the Circle line, together with the District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. This state-of-the-art system will replace a number of older systems, including manual signalling dating back to the 1920s at Edgware Road.
We know it's not something you see or take much notice of, but new signalling will allow us to run more trains, more often and with fewer failures. Combined with bigger trains that we can move more quickly and closer together, it'll mean more room - or capacity - on the line.
That's good news because as London keeps growing there'll be more people using the Tube. When the upgrade is complete the combined line capacity will increase by 65 per cent, which means we can carry about 17,000 more passengers an hour.
New trains
From 2012, we'll be introducing 53 new trains on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. These will be seven carriages long - one carriage longer than our current trains.
In addition to being air-conditioned, they will have walk-through carriages, automated visual displays and station announcements, plus the reassurance of CCTV.
To improve accessibility, they will also have dedicated wheelchair areas, wider doors and walkways, lower passenger alarms and a smaller gap between the train and platform.
See a preview of the new trains, which will be introduced in 2012 and 2013
Extended Circle line
In December 2009, we extended the Circle line from Edgware Road to Hammersmith, along the Hammersmith & City tracks.
We did this so we could run trains more frequently between Edgware Road and Hammersmith. Now, there are twice as many trains running on this section of the line and if there's a problem on the line for any reason, service should get back to normal far quicker than it used to.
Blackfriars station
In February 2012, we completed major redevelopment work at Blackfriars station.
Benefits include an upgraded station with step-free access, increased capacity and better interchange between Tube and National Rail services.
King's Cross St. Pancras
In 2010, we completed a massive redevelopment of King's Cross St. Pancras that quadrupled the size of this key station.
It already sees more passengers a year than Heathrow Airport, and by the time of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, more than 100,000 people will pass through the station at peak times every day.
King's Cross St. Pancras is now modern and spacious, has step-free access to all lines, and is less congested thanks to new ways to enter and exit the station.
Paddington station (Hammersmith & City)
More than 60,000 passengers currently use the Hammersmith & City station every day and demand has already increased dramatically as a result of the extension of the Circle line to Hammersmith.
We need to prepare for further increases in demand in advance of Crossrail services in 2018.
Victoria station
If you've been to Victoria station lately, you may have noticed that it's busier than usual as we're doing a great deal of work at the station.
This massive upgrade project is really exciting as it'll mean less congestion, more step-free access and quicker journeys in and out of the station.
It's a huge job and there's a lot to be done before we finish work in 2018, so please bear with us.
We'll try to keep disruptions to a minimum.
When will the work be finished?
Key improvements
- Extended Circle line
- Capacity increased by 65%
- New, air-conditioned trains
- New signalling system
- Major stations more accessible
- See also
- About London Underground
- Crossrail
Check if your Tube line is affected by upgrade works
