Trains have been taken out of service due to damage caused this autumn
Leaf fall creates “very challenging” conditions for the current fleet of 50-year-old Piccadilly line trains, TfL says(Image: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Train damage caused by significant leaf fall in West London has forced the Piccadilly line to partially shut. No trains are currently running between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge with passengers instead forced to use the Metropolitan line to complete their journeys.
Last year the same stretch shut for two-and-a-half months between mid-November and the end of January for the same reason. This was brought on by two storms in quick succession which led a significant amount of leaves falling on the track.
TfL workers struggled to clear this, which led to a mulch forming. Within a few weeks almost all Piccadilly line trains were damaged due ‘wheel flats’, which happens when the brakes are applied but the wheels slide – causing erosion on the track.
As a result of this, the line between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge remained shut while Piccadilly line trains were repaired. In September TfL assured a “robust action plan” has been put in place to limit the impact of leaf fall, which involved clearing trackside vegetation and running specialist engineering trains along affected sections.
Similar to last year, this morning’s closure (Thursday, October 23) follow Storm Benjamin which has caused transport chaos across London and the South East. Weather warnings are in place for both wind and rain, with 48mph gusts set to hit London.
The Piccadilly line is the most susceptible on the Tube network to closures due to leaf fall. It has a long tree-lined stretch between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge which its 50-year-old trains struggle to cope with in autumn.
A new fleet of Piccadilly line trains were meant to have been introduced in late-2025, but have since been delayed to 2026. TfL told MyLondon earlier this year that newer trains on other Tube lines have not been as affected by leaf fall, so the upcoming fleet will be less vulnerable to the issue.
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