All TfL transport upgrades planned for 2026 including new trains and toilets

Travelling in London can feel like doom and gloom sometimes, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel with some major transport upgrades coming up.

If you have ever been packed into a sweaty rush-hour Tube, the chances are you’ve prayed for better services, and soon.

While making upgrades to the vast and heavily used London transport network doesn’t happen overnight, progress is being made for a spate of much-needed updates, including on the Elizabeth and Piccadilly lines.

Here is a breakdown of all the upcoming upgrades.

Elizabeth line

The Lizzy line, one of the most popular routes on the TfL network with around 800,000 journeys daily, will get 10 new trains this spring.

Currently in production, the extra fleet will be rolled out on routes that need more frequent services.

Passengers using the reportedly overcrowded Acton Main Line, Southall and Hanwell stations will be served by three additional trains every morning from May thanks to the new trains.

Piccadilly line

The Piccadilly line upgrade to replace the existing trains with 94 new, air-conditioned trains hit a setback last summer, when they were delayed by a year.

The new fleet, which will add 10% more capacity, was expected to be rolled out between July and December, with all 94 trains in service by the end of 2027.

However, a second delay was announced at the end of February due to safety concerns, pushing the launch of the new trains to some time between December 2026 and June 2027, so we may still see them this year… maybe?

Central line

The red line running east-west through London has looked worse for wear, with passengers reporting graffiti inside and outside the carriages.

But a planned refurbishment of the trains is behind schedule due to engine failures that had to take priority so that services were not affected, meaning only three trains on the line have been renovated so far.

The remaining 76 are expected to be done by the end of 2029.

DLR

The Docklands Light Railway, which has been driverless already since the 1980s, is getting 54 new trains with air-conditioning, USB phone charging and better accessibility.

They will replace the oldest ones in the fleet, some of which have been in action for over 30 years.

Plans are also underway for a £1.62 billion extension of the DLR between Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead.

Superloop buses

The Superloop network is made of 12 express bus routes designed to be faster than the usual buses as they have fewer stops.

The latest addition to the superloop family is SL11, connecting North Greenwich and Abbey Wood in southeast London, which launched last month.

SL12 is the next Superloop route coming up later this year between Gants Hill and Rainham, and it’ll be followed by the newly approved SL14 which will run between Stratford and Chingford and is expected to launch in 2027.

Meanwhile, TfL is looking to change several bus routes after falling passenger numbers, with some routes possibly being axed.

Mobile signal

Those annoyed by the patchy Internet coverage on the Underground can let out a sigh of relief as more tunnels and stations are being connected.

You are likely to see more people on their phones at these stations, which are set to get 4G and 5G coverage in the coming months:

• Euston Square
• Cannon Street
• Battersea Power Station
• Kings Cross St Pancras
• Gloucester Road
• Warwick Avenue
• Vauxhall

London Trams

One of London’s lesser-known facts is that it has trams.

Trundling between Wimbledon, Croydon and Beckenham Junction, the ageing tram fleet is set to be replaced.

What about the Bakerloo line extension?

This one has been on TfL’s – and passengers’ – wishlist for years.

While the major missing link to make it a reality is missing, which is money from the government, work has started behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for the planned extension.

It will stretch the Bakerloo line from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham to begin with, adding two new stations.

Until the proposed extension is up and running, projected to be sometime after 2034, the route will be served by the Bakerloop express bus, which is part of the Superloop network.

New Tube toilets

TfL is looking at making major improvements to the toilets available to Londoners across the London Underground and Overground network.

As part of its £15 million Equity in Motion scheme, several Tube stations across the city are getting new toilets.

The Northern line’s Morden station is the latest to get these new gender-neutral toilets with baby-changing facilities, and seven other stations have been confirmed to get toilets:

• Acton Central Overground
• Colindale Underground
• Leyton Underground
• New Cross Gate Overground
• Northolt Underground
• Surrey Quays Overground
• West Ham Underground

Over 150 stations across the TfL network have toilets, while a further 40 toilets are available at stations that aren’t managed by TfL, like the recently unveiled loos at Piccadilly Circus Tube station, which are managed by Westminster Council.

More rapid EV chargers are coming

At the end of February, TfL awarded TotalEnergies, an energy firm, with a new contract to install over 40 new rapid EV chargers across London, adding to the 1,550 chargers already available to the public.

The contract, which is TotalEnergies’ second, comes as TfL continues work with charge point operator Zest, which has already installed 40 rapid and ultra-rapid charging bays in the capital, with more planned.

Locations for the new 43 rapid chargers haven’t been confirmed yet, but early reports suggest that a large number of them are planned for areas in south London.

The push for more EV chargers is part of TfL’s decision to support the shift to electric vehicles and reach Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s target of reaching net zero carbon by 2030.

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