Piccadilly and Jubilee line services increased as record journeys made on Tube

London Underground (LU) carried more customers and ran more train services than ever before during the last year, according to new figures released today. And with demand continuing to grow, LU has introduced new timetables on two of the network’s busiest lines – the Jubilee and Piccadilly – to provide customers with more frequent services and ensure that the capital maintains its role as the engine room of the UK economy.

The end of year figures, published today by Transport for London (TfL), show that LU carried 1.265bn passengers in 2013-14, compared with 1.229bn the previous year. The year-on-year growth of three per cent continues the rapidly rising demand for Tube services, with passenger numbers up by a third over the last ten years.

LU also ran more services than ever before in 2013-14, with nearly an extra 600,000kms operated over the year. Despite the record levels of customer demand delays caused by asset failures – such as signal problems or track faults – fell to their lowest level. Delays to customers have been reduced by 54 per cent since 2004, and 34 per cent since 2008.

With demand for services at an all-time high and continuing to grow, LU has introduced new timetables on the Piccadilly and Jubilee lines to provide more frequent and reliable services for customers.

The service improvements are part of the continuing modernisation of the Underground, with major stations, trains, track and signalling being modernised or replaced to provide more capacity for a growing city. LU’s plans to improve customer service will also see the public areas of stations – ticket halls, ticket gates and platforms – become personalised customer service centres, replicating the standards of service offered during the London 2012 Games.

On the Piccadilly line, weekend demand from shoppers, tourists and regular travellers now means that Saturday afternoon services are almost as busy as weekday peaks, so service levels have been boosted from 21 to 24 trains every hour in each direction between midday and 17:00hrs. Evening weekday services have also been increased, and we will be running an extra 3 trains every hour until just before 23:00hrs.

Extra trains are also now in service on the Jubilee line, enabling LU to operate the full peak service of 30 trains every hour for longer periods during the busiest times in the morning and evening peaks, making services more frequent and less crowded for customers. The new timetable means there will also be more trains on weekdays outside of peaks and on Saturdays and Sundays, with more services linking Wembley Park with the West End, Canary Wharf and Stratford at those times and also with more late night services across the line.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “In the face of phenomenal customer demand our iconic Tube network has successfully transported a staggering number of people on more services than ever before. Thanks to vital investment and a programme of modernisation we’ve seen delays cut and more frequent and reliable trains that enable Londoners to get to where they want to go more quickly. We can’t afford to rest on our laurels however and we have to keep looking towards the future if we are to give the Tube the tools it needs to carry an ever growing number of people. New services on the Jubilee and Piccadilly lines, the continued upgrading of our track and signalling, as well as a brand new fleet of trains are all part of our plan to keep the capital and its economy moving in the right direction.”

Mike Brown MVO, Managing Director of London Underground, said: “It is amazing that the Underground is carrying a third more customers now than it did only ten years ago, and customer demand shows no signs of letting up. We know that London will see a rise in its population of more than a million people by 2031 – that’s the equivalent to a city the size of Birmingham.

“The service increases we’ve introduced on the Jubilee and Piccadilly lines are just the latest step in our plans to deliver a modern Tube for London, with air-conditioned trains now operating on four lines, new signalling allowing us to run more trains on the Jubilee and Victoria lines and on the Northern line later this year, and bigger and more accessible stations at major interchanges.

“We’re looking to the future all the time, and have asked manufacturers to work with us to build a new Tube train for London, capable of carrying more passengers more quickly and in greater comfort on the Tube’s deep-level lines. London Underground is the engine room of the capital and we will only keep pace with demand by running more services while being more efficient and customer-focused in everything that we do”.