Tube chiefs cut train numbers

Tube chiefs believe they know how to improve the service - reduce the number of rush-hour trains.

They revealed a plan today to cut the number of trains on the Piccadilly line, used by more than 600,000 people a day, from 27 trains an hour to 24.

They say the main problem affecting the Piccadilly line is the difficulty in turning trains round at Arnos Grove on the eastern end of the line. Running slightly fewer services would ease the "traffic jam".

London Underground insists that the reduction in service on the Piccadilly line will mean the trains that do run will be "no more crowded than at present".

And if the plan works, it could spread to to other lines. The District line - busiest on the network and used by nearly 700,000 passengers a day - could be next. When that starts to grind to a halt through central London, as it does frequently, LU's answer is to remove the Circle line trains altogether to allow the District to "run easier".

The move to cut services on the Piccadilly line from September was met by anger and incredulity both from commuters and the Greater London Authority Tories.

David Watkins, 39, an architect's assistant who travels from King's Cross to Knightsbridge, said: "It is bizarre. I don't get a seat now and certainly won't when this madcap scheme starts."

Angie Bray, Tory transport spokesman for the GLA, said commuters would "staggered" to learn what LU was intending for the systems third busiest line.

She said: "Just how can the service improve and not be more crowded by having fewer trains running? The Tube system is going from worse to worse."

Ms Bray condemned government plans to hive off large sections of the network to the private sector, saying they would do "nothing to improve" conditions.

The move to cut train numbers on the Piccadilly line was defended by Claire Filby, head of LU's public affairs, in a letter to GLA members. She said: "I know it may seem odd to suggest that a reduction in overall service levels will effect an overall improvement in the service [but] that is our clear objective."

Ms Filby admitted that the Piccadilly line does not currently deliver the required performance "on a sufficiently consistent basis for us to be confident in the robustness of the existing timetable",

She said that a "more realistic timetable, less prone to delays, cancellations" would provide a better service. She said plans for the network under the public-private partnership would mean improved facilities at Arnos Grove to provide a speedier turn-around for trains.

An industry source said: "You can understand what LU is getting at. It is the same as arguing that restricting cars on a motorway could be said to make journeys faster by reducing traffic jams. The trouble is Tube commuters won't see it that way."