EXCLUSIVE : Central Line to become AC powered!

[moley]

Tfl have published a Periodic information notice in the Official Journal of the Euopean Union asking for Indicative tenders for the conversion of 85 8-car 92 stock trains from DC traction to AC traction.

London Underground Limited (LUL) is considering a proposal to replace the existing DC traction system on 85 Central Line trains with a new AC traction system. This notice is a request for interested parties to provide information which will enable LUL to assess the technical and commercial viability of the proposal prior to commencing a full tendering process.

My obvious comment is that this means 1-2 train sout of use at a time not to mention the closure time involved in converting the whole line from DC traction to dual traction and then removing the DC rails at a later date.

And the cost - just for the train coversion ...

Initial estimated cost:

Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 90 000 000 and 130 000 000 GBP.

Full notice available at: http://ted.europa.eu/Exec?DataFlow=Show ... tatLang=EN

[eurovision50]

Sorry if this is a mighty stupid question, but why bother converting from DC to AC? If you were a Hornby train, you would be able to run of the mains supply without the use of a pathetically inefficient transformer, but I don't quite see that relates to Tube trains.

[CrunchySaviour]

Maybe that's the reason - it's just more economical not to transform it to DC for the Tube. They must use a hell of a lot of electricity.

[greatkingrat]

They are not planning on converting the power supply, just the motors on the trains. 95/96 stock trains already have AC motors which are more efficient than DC motors.

[Dr Who]

They are not planning on converting the power supply, just the motors on the trains. 95/96 stock trains already have AC motors which are more efficient than DC motors.

That makes more sense now.

[snudge27]

If that's the case then it may be that they're looking for interchangability of stock in the future?