London Underground 1996 Stock
| Company type | Rolling stock |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Predecessor | 1983 Stock |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | London , United Kingdom |
| Products | London Underground trains |
| Owner | London Underground |
| Parent | Transport for London |
London Underground 1996 Stock
The 1996 Stock trains operate on the Jubilee line of the London Underground. Built by GEC Alstom-Metro-Cammell, these units began service in 1997 and exhibit external styling that closely resembles the 1995 Stock running on the Northern line.
Initially, the fleet consisted of 59 six-car trains. In 2005, each train was lengthened to seven cars with the addition of a trailer vehicle, and an extra four seven-car trains were introduced, expanding the total to 63 trains.
History
The procurement of the 1996 Stock coincided with the launch of the Jubilee Line Extension (JLE), spanning from Green Park to Stratford. Plans to refurbish the existing 1983 stock by updating its exterior and installing double doors were ultimately discarded due to financial constraints. Owing to construction delays on the extension, the 1996 Stock was first deployed on the original Jubilee line to replace the 1983 units before the JLE became operational. The inaugural train arrived in July 1996 and entered passenger service on 24 December 1997, with all remaining trains delivered by July 2001.
Development of both the 1995 Stock and 1996 Stock occurred simultaneously. Detailed engineering was carried out by Alstom at their facilities in Washwood Heath and Rugby. The initial six sets were constructed at Alstom’s factory in Barcelona, where type approval testing took place. Subsequent production of the 1995 Stock also began there, with final assembly and outfitting completed at Washwood Heath on adjacent lines.
Overview
While the 1996 Stock shares an identical external car body design with the 1995 Stock, it diverges in interior layout, seating arrangements, cab design (developed by Warwick Design Consultants), traction equipment, train control systems, and minor tripcock configurations. The 1995 Stock features LED body-side lights, whereas the 1996 Stock is equipped with filament bulbs. A significant technical distinction lies in the bogie design: the 1996 Stock utilizes Alstom bogies fitted with rubber suspension, contrasting with the AdTranz bogies employing air suspension found on the 1995 Stock—this difference reflects adaptation for Northern line track conditions. These variations underscore differing design philosophies: the 1996 Stock prioritized minimizing initial capital expenditure ("cheapest first cost"), while the 1995 Stock emphasized total ownership cost ("life cycle cost"), with Alstom responsible for maintaining both fleets.
Maintenance activities for the 1996 Stock take place at Stratford Market Depot located in East London.
Originally delivered as six-car formations comprising two coupled three-car units—Driving Motor car [DM], Trailer car [T], and Uncoupling Non-Driving Motor car [UNDM]—the typical configuration is . Twelve trailer cars were later outfitted with de-icing equipment and classified as De-Icing Trailer cars [DIT].
Car numbering employs a five-digit scheme: "96" identifies the stock series; the third digit specifies car type (0/1 for DM, 2/3 for T, 4/5 for UNDM, 6/7 for special trailers added in 2005, and 8/9 for DIT). For instance, a six-car set might bear numbers such as 96001, 96201, 96401, 96402, 96202, and 96002.
Addition of seventh car
Following the 2003 rollout of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) on the Underground, Tube Lines aimed to enhance the Jubilee line's capacity by lengthening trains to seven carriages, resulting in a 17% increase in passenger volume. The 1996 Stock was engineered with the capacity for a seventh carriage, and platforms along with platform-edge doors at Jubilee Line Extension stations were constructed to support this expansion.
In June 2003, Tube Lines placed an order for 87 carriages from Alstom—comprising 59 additional cars for existing trains and four new seven-car trainsets—at a cost of £150 million. These units were produced at Alstom's recently established manufacturing facility in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, Barcelona. By November 2005, all carriages had been delivered to Stratford Market Depot. To facilitate the retrofitting of current trains, Jubilee line services were curtailed in December 2005, followed by a complete line shutdown starting on 25 December for five days. This closure allowed for essential conversion work involving signalling systems, signage updates, and software modifications for platform-edge doors. The project concluded ahead of schedule, reopening two days early on 29 December. The four newly built trains commenced operation in Spring 2006.
The seventh carriage acts as a trailer within the "odd" unit and is labeled "G". Initially, plans called for two cars to be hard-wired together as a single unit; however, this proved unnecessary. New trainsets were originally constructed as six-car formations and subsequently extended to seven-car configurations at Stratford Market Depot.
Distinctions between the new and original cars included amber-colored passenger information displays (PIDs), black vestibule flooring replacing the previous grey, yellow door seal strips, upgraded seat upholstery, and lengthened ridged flooring in vestibule areas. Many of these features have since been standardized through refurbishment efforts. The new carriages are numbered from 96601 to 96725 (using odd numbers exclusively) and feature the "Alstom 1996" step-plate adorned with Alstom’s updated logo.
Upgrades and refurbishment
The original trains were fitted with mauve and grey moquette seating arranged in a 'J' pattern symbolizing Jubilee. In November 2005, this was substituted with dark blue Tube Lines moquette incorporating multi-colored hollow squares—a design consistent with updates applied to the 1973 and 1995 rolling stock. Purple armrests were repainted blue to harmonize with the refreshed seating.
Beginning in April 2012, all train units received the Barman moquette upgrade ahead of the 2012 Olympics.
From 2014 onward, external LCD destination indicators were replaced by LED displays featuring orange text rather than yellow.
Starting in 2017, a thorough refurbishment was initiated approximately two decades after the trains’ introduction. Enhancements included installing new flooring with contrasting colors and grooved textures at doorways, repainting grab rails silver, fitting wheelchair backboards in select trailers, repainting turquoise interior panels white, and covering external door open/close buttons with plating. The first refurbished train returned to service in February 2017, with completion of the entire fleet achieved by December 2019.
Automatic train operation
Although the Jubilee Line Extension was initially planned to debut with an automatic train operation (ATO) system, delays necessitated reliance on conventional signalling and manual operation via a dead man's handle until 2011.
Starting in 2009, Thales implemented the SelTrac signalling system (Transmission-based train control), enabling automated train operation where drivers are responsible only for door control and initiating departures. This upgrade required fitting all 1996 stock trains with Vehicle On Board Controllers (VOBC) and updated Train Operators Displays (TOD).
The phased introduction of ATO began in January 2011 and reached full deployment by June 26, 2011. Automation facilitated an increase in peak service frequency to 27 trains per hour by July 2011, which later rose further to 30 trains per hour.
Roster
← Stratford (A) Stanmore (D) →
| ||||||||
| Formation | 960xx (DM) |
962xx (T) |
966xx (ST) |
964xx (UNDM) |
964xx (UNDM) |
962xx (T) |
960xx (DM) | |
| Numbers | 96001 ∥ 96125 |
96201 ∥ 96325 |
96601 ∥ 96725 |
96401 ∥ 96525 |
96402 ∥ 96526 |
96202 ∥ 96278 96320 |
96002 ∥ 96126 | |
| De-icing trailers | 96880 ∥ 96918 |
|||||||
- DM – Driving Motor car
- T – Non-powered Trailer car
- ST – Special Trailer car (non-powered)
- UNDM – Uncoupling Non-Driving Motor car