The 13-year gap between the Jubilee line's 1996 stock and the Victoria line's new 2009 stock is the greatest in the history of tube stock classification.
2009
< 13 >
1996
< 1 >
1995
< 3 >
1992
< 6 >
1986
< 3 >
1983
< 10 >
1973
< 1 >
1972
< 5 >
1967
< 5 >
1962
< 2 >
1960
< 1 >
1959
< 3 >
1956
< 7 >
1949
< 11 >
1938
< 3 >
1935*
However, the 2009 stock is actually not hugely different in appearance from the 1986 stock, the Metro-Cammell trains in particular - despite the 23 year gap. Outside hung doors (single at car ends, two pairs at car thirds) rubber/lino flooring, swathes of white/off-white plastic, large non-opening windows, LED dot-matrix displays, all longitudinal seating.
Have we reached a point where there won't be any more significant advances in Tube profile stock? Compare the Gate with Standard, Standard with 1938, 1938 with 1960, 1960 with 1986. Each of them introduced new concepts, but I don't see any such change from a passenger's point of view with 2009 stock.
The space train concept put forward for the Victoria replacement stock seems to be firmly pushed to the back of the shelf - if there was going to be one line on which such a concept could have been tried surely this was it. Articulation, smaller wheels, more motors, different floor and door arrangements allowing better passenger circulation.
On the other hand perhaps it's not to the manufacturer's (or the operators) advantage to be too radical. I understand the Paris Metro is considering replacing the innovative stock used on line 7bis because they've proved too troublesome in just over ten years of service.
* Going back beyond 1935 (the prototype for the classic 1938 stock) gets tricky because of the number of variants of Standard (sic) Stock and Gate stock before that - I couldn't remember all the different types and years!
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