Central Line blasted in Essex as TfL admits just one train fully refurbished

Just one Central Line train has been fully refurbished amid complaints the service is so unreliable that "people cannot run their lives or their livelihood". Poor reliability and infrequency of Central Line services have been blamed on the number of trains taken out of action due to motor issues.

The complaints come amid a £500million CLIP programme to boost future reliability, provide wheelchair bays, better customer information systems, CCTV in carriages, and new seating. TfL admits the trains on the Central Line - the longest on the London Underground at 46 miles - are more than 30 years old and are among the least reliable on the Tube.

However, since it announced the CLIP programme in 2015, it has delivered just one fully refurbished train. Another one is due to be in operation by the end of the year. It argues the original outline of the project and its timing would have improved reliability before the trains were planned to be replaced between 2028 and 2031.

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However, with the changes to the timescales of replacement trains as a result of the lack of funding, the scope of the project was expanded by around 60 per cent, and the budget increased to £500m. Challenges around Covid and more recent cost inflation also mean that some suppliers entered administration, and replacements had to be found.

TfL is now working for all 85 Central Line trains to be upgraded by the end of 2029. However TfL is only running 55 of the full fleet of 85 and even those are being driven at slower speeds due to issues with the reliability of the motors that are being replaced at the same time as the wider CLIP programme.

Jasmit Jabbal, community partnerships specialist at Transport for London, covering Newham, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Essex, said the issues around the motors on the trains could not have been anticipated and but said TfL has "seen the worst of it".

He said: "We have 85 trains at the moment but due to the issues we have with the motors going we have not been running with the full stock and we are keeping some back in case they go out of service so we can continue a regular service albeit not as frequent as it was previously."

He added that the service should improve as more trains are fitted with new motors. Councillor Howard Kauffman, who represents Loughton, said: "To have one new train on is just appalling. I don't understand how it can be so bad. There are not enough trains, and the service has deteriorated significantly in the last two or three years.

On Mondays at Loughton, you might have to wait 14 or 15 minutes for a train, which is ridiculous and completely unacceptable. You are going to turn into a grey old man waiting for a train. It's not acceptable."

Councillor Kaz Rizvi, who represents Chigwell said he received proof of three cancelled trains on the same notification board that were supposed to come into Woodford on Monday October 28.

He said: "People cannot run their lives their livelihood their businesses or plan their day with such an unreliable service."