London Underground 2009 Stock

The 2009 stock is a type of London Underground train built by Bombardier Transportation as part of their Movia family at their Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, England. Forty-seven 8-car units are being built for the Victoria line, replacing the original 1967 Tube Stock. Construction of the new trains is on-going and rollout will continue until 2011, when all 1967 Stock trains will have been replaced. The first 2009 Stock train entered passenger service on 21 July 2009 and a new train will enter service every two weeks from early 2010.

Description
The trains are part of a £3.4 billion contract awarded by the now defunct Metronet to Bombardier to supply new trains featuring Automatic Train Operation and signalling for the Victoria and sub-surface lines. This upgrade should provide improved reliability, an 8% decrease in journey times between stations and a 16% overall decrease in journey times. This is due in part to the trains having better performance than the 1967 Tube Stock they are replacing - they have a higher top speed of 80 km/h, faster maximum acceleration of 1.3 ms−2, normal service deceleration of 1.14 ms−2 and emergency brake deceleration of 1.4 ms−2, the same as the 1992 Tube Stock. At peak times, 43 trains should be in service, an increase of six over the current number. The trains seat 252 and have standing space for an estimated 1196 passengers, giving a 19% increase in capacity, and will offer a more comfortable ride and wider doors for easier boarding and alighting of passengers to decrease dwell times in stations.

Unlike the 1967 Tube Stock, the trains are built 40 mm wider to take advantage of the Victoria line's slightly larger than normal loading gauge compared with the other deep-level tube lines. This prevents the trains from leaving the Victoria line except by road, which means that each car of an eight-car train has to be uncoupled for moving, loaded onto a lorry and re-coupled upon delivery. The trains have been built with Bombardier's FICAS technology, giving a thinner bodyshell and hence (along with the larger size) more internal space for passengers. They are the first London Underground Stock to be designed since the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations came into force, so they will have more facilities for people with impaired mobility, including multi-purpose areas with tip-up seats and space for wheelchairs and pushchairs and offset centre door poles for wheelchair access.

The trains are the longest on the system at 133.275 m, 3 m longer than the 1967 Tube Stock, although the forthcoming sub-surface S Stock, which is also part of Bombardier's Movia family and has been ordered under the same contract, will be longer still. They are said to use a version of the traction pack used on Bombardier's Electrostar trains which has been modified for short distance metro-style services. They have CCTV cameras and dot matrix displays to show real-time service information as well as audio announcements. They maintain a fixed height to keep the train in profile under different loading patterns and regardless of the extent of wheel wear. Unlike most other London Underground trains, they will have their Combined Traction Brake Controller (driver's manual controls, often called "dead man's handle") on the right-hand side of the cab, as most of the platforms on the Victoria line are on the right. Access to the cab for driver changes will be easier: an external side door is fitted, unlike in the 1967 Tube Stock and the cab had to be accessed through the passenger compartment, which could be difficult at rush hour.

Trains are made up of two 4-car units coupled-back-to-back, with the configuration A Car (Driving Motor) - B Car (Trailer) - C Car (Non Driving Motor) - D Car (Uncoupling Non Driving Motor (Shunting) | D Car (Uncoupling Non Driving Motor (Shunting) - C Car (Non Driving Motor) - B Car (Trailer) - A Car (Driving Motor), and will be maintained by LUL train maintainers at the Victoria line's Northumberland Park Depot. Bombardier's staff are on site for warranty parts replacement. They were originally intended to have all motored axles as in the 1992 Tube Stock, so that they would have enough traction and acceleration for faster running times. However, it was decided that 75% of motored axles would be sufficient, which also gave a design that is simpler to manufacture and maintain and reduced project costs by around £10 million, about 3.5% of the overall cost. They have mechanical-only Scharfenberg couplers.

Introduction of the 2009 Stock
The design of the trains was finalised in September 2004 and manufacture of two pre-production trains began in January 2005, the first scheduled to be completed by mid-2006. Metronet announced on 3 February 2006 that the first of the pre-production cars had been completed in preparation for static testing. From 21 July to 4 August 2006, a mock-up of the train was on show at Euston Square Gardens, near Euston Square tube station, for a Customer Acceptance Test followed by public display. From September 2006, the first train underwent testing at Bombardier's manufacturing and test site at their Litchurch Lane Works in Derby. It was due to be delivered to London Underground by the end of 2006 for testing on the Victoria line during engineering hours but this did not occur until May 2007. It will also be used for driver and maintenance training and familiarisation. The first of the trains was expected to begin passenger service on the Victoria line for evaluation purposes in July 2008, with the remainder of the fleet being delivered and entering passenger service in 2009. However, by October 2007, the date for the first train entering service had slipped to January 2009 and the first train entered service on 21 July 2009, leaving the depot at 23:00 and forming train 277 leaving at 23:55 to.

Trains 1 and 2 were being used for testing on the Victoria line but have returned to Derby for modifications. The fourth train of 2009 stock was the first production train for the Victoria line. It was delivered in December 2009 and entered service in February 2010. Trains 3 to 32 are currently in service. About two thirds of the Victoria line service is now provided by 2009 stock - they will provide the entire service by summer 2011.

Problems
On 26th July 2010 at morning rush hour, service was temporarily suspended due to a broken down train at. The previous week, ambulances had to be called to rescue almost 3,000 passengers trapped on board a failed train at. Transport for London blamed software problems and over-sensitive doors.

Announcer System
The 2009 stock trains on the Victoria line are fitted with an automated voice announcer. An example of the regular voice pattern is as follows:
 * "This is Vauxhall. Change here for National Rail services. This is a Victoria line train to Walthamstow Central."

The longest voice pattern can be heard at King's Cross St. Pancras:
 * "This is King's Cross St. Pancras. Change here for Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Northern and Piccadilly lines, and National and International Rail services. Exit here for British Library. This station has step-free access. This is a Victoria line train to Walthamstow Central."

The shortest voice pattern can be heard at Pimlico:
 * "This is Pimlico. Exit here for Tate Britain. This is a Victoria line train to Brixton."

A new feature is that announcements are also made to inform passengers on which side of the train the doors will open at the approaching station. However at both termini (Brixton and Walthamstow Central) the doors could open on either side so this announcement is suppressed. An example of a regular voice pattern is as follows:
 * "The next station is Green Park. Doors will open on the right hand side. Change for Jubilee and Piccadilly lines. Exit for Buckingham Palace."

At Finsbury Park (Northbound), Highbury & Islington (Southbound), King's Cross St. Pancras and Warren Street, the doors open on the left hand side. An example of a regular voice pattern for Northbound trains approaching Finsbury Park is as follows:
 * "The next station is Finsbury Park. Doors will open on the left hand side. Change for Piccadilly line and National Rail services."