Sections of the Piccadilly line are being closed on dates throughout the second half of 2026 to allow Transport for London (TfL) to carry out uprades ahead of a new fleet of Tube trains being introduced from December. Most planned closures will happen at weekends, with many starting from 12.30am on Saturday mornings and running until the end of service on Sunday on parts of the Piccadilly line.
In these cases Friday Night Tube services will be suspended. Other closures will happen on weekdays, though, and on three occasions there will be no service on the entire line. These part-closures will allow TfL to carry out essential upgrades to the power supply, tracks, platforms, depots and sidings while continuing to test the new Tube trains’ interaction with existing London Underground infrastructure, alongside assessments of their efficiency and performance.
Work already completed during part closures of the line includes weight-load testing of the new trains, with 400km covered using a test train in its fully loaded state of 68 tonnes, and work at 119 Piccadilly line platforms to ensure they are ready to accommodate the new trains, which are longer than the current fleet and have different door placement.
Some of the closures are also being used to continue routine maintenance work, such as the renewal of points in the Hounslow area from May 28-31, to make sure the line continues to run reliably in years to come. A TfL spokesperson said where possible, weekday closures have been timed to take place in school holidays to avoid the busiest commuter times.
The full list of closures is below but some of the works mean there will be a closure from Acton Town to Heathrow, and Rayners Lane to Uxbridge, from Thursday, May 28, to Sunday, May 31. Then on Thursday, July 30, and Friday, July 31, and Monday, August 3, the line will be closed between Cockfosters and Uxbridge. There will also be a closure from Cockfosters to Heathrow on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2.
A further set of midweek closures in August will be in place from Cockfosters to Uxbridge. These will take place from Tuesday to Thursday for two consecutive weeks, those dates are Tuesday, August 18, to Thursday, August 20, as well as Tuesday, August 25, to Thursday, August 27. During these closures, the Metropolitan line will run as normal between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge
When passengers will get to use new Piccadilly line trains
The new Tube trains are part of a £3.4bn investment to modernise the Piccadilly line and they will be introduced between December this year and June 2027. New trains will replace the existing fleet, which has been serving London since 1975.
Stuart Harvey, TfL’s Chief Capital Officer, said: “Introducing a new fleet of trains is a huge engineering and logistical feat which inevitably requires upgrades and intensive testing. Although much of the hard work goes on behind the scenes, there are times when we need to close sections of the railway to ensure that these pioneering new trains can operate effectively and interact correctly with a wide range of complex infrastructure.
“We are very confident that once this intensive period of upgrades and testing is completed, and the new trains start to enter service, our customers will reap the benefits of moving around the capital on these game-changing new trains.”
The new trains will have walk-through carriages, wider all-double doorways to help customers get on and off more easily, enhanced real-time digital display screens for customer information, and on-train CCTV cameras.
They will also feature air-conditioning for the first time on the deep Tube network. The new trains will provide 10 per cent more capacity – despite being lighter than existing designs, which means they consume 20 per cent less energy and provide a smoother ride for customers.
The increased fleet size will allow frequency to increase from 24 to 27 trains per hour, and the programme overall will boost peak capacity by 23 per cent in Central London compared to the current service.
Four of the new trains are currently being tested on the Tube network during overnight engineering hours and weekend closures. In the coming months, customers will start to see the new trains being tested on the network during passenger hours.
TfL’s confirmed dates of Piccadilly line closures in 2026
For all closures, passengers are advised to plan ahead using TfL’s real-time travel information tools, including TfL Journey Planner and TfL Go, to check before travelling and to allow more time for their journeys. TfL will also contact regular users of the Piccadilly line ahead of these closures with travel advice and information while posters and public address announcements will be put in place at all relevant stations.
Longer closures are indicated in bold.
Friday, May 22 (Night Tube): Hyde Park Corner to Heathrow
Sat 23 – Mon 25 May: Hyde Park Corner to Northfields and Uxbridge
Thu 28 – Sun 31 May: Acton Town to Heathrow and Rayners Lane to Uxbridge
Fri 5 (Night Tube) – Sun 7 June: Hammersmith to Heathrow and Uxbridge
Fri 12 June (Night Tube): No service on the entire line
Sat 13 June (until 14:00): Hyde Park Corner to Acton Town
Sat 20 – Sun 21 June: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
Fri 26 June (Night Tube): King’s Cross St Pancras to Heathrow
Sat 27 – Sun 28 June: King’s Cross St Pancras to Northfields and Uxbridge
Fri 10 (Night Tube) – Sun 12 July: Hammersmith to Heathrow and Uxbridge
Fri 17 July (Night Tube): Hyde Park Corner to Cockfosters
Sat 18 – Sun 19 July: King’s Cross St Pancras to Cockfosters
Thurs 30 – Fri 31 July: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
Fri 31 July (Night Tube): No service on the entire line
Sat 1 – Sun 2 August: Cockfosters to Heathrow
Mon 3 August: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
Tue 18 – Thurs 20 August: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
Tue 25 – Thurs 27 Aug: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
Fri 18 Sept (Night Tube): Hyde Park Corner to Northfields
Sat 19 – Sun 20 September: Hyde Park Corner to Acton Town
Sat 26 – Sun 27 September: Cockfosters to Uxbridge
Sat 17 – Sun 18 October: Hammersmith to Heathrow and Uxbridge
Fri 30 Oct (Night Tube) – Sun 1 Nov: No service on the entire line
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