The London Underground 1995 Stock is a type of rolling stock used on the

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

. A total of 106 six-car trains were built, entering service between June 1998 and April 2001, replacing the 1959 Stock, 1962 Stock and

1972 Stock The London Underground 1972 Stock is a type of rolling stock used on the London Underground. The 1972 Stock was originally ordered to make up the shortfall in trains on the Northern line's 1959 Tube Stock fleet, but is nowadays used on the Bake ...

. They are very similar to the 1996 Stock used on the

Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in east London and in the suburban north-west, via the Docklands, South Bank and West End. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the Underground network, although some secti ...

History

In the early 1990s, one aspect of work to comprehensively refurbish the

involved the replacement of the 1959 Stock, 1962 Stock and 1972 Stock trains in use at the time. In April 1995, London Underground and

GEC Alsthom GEC or Gec may refer to: Education * Gedo Education Committee, in Somalia * Glen Eira College, in Caulfield East, Victoria, Australia * Goa Engineering College, India * Government Engineering College (disambiguation) * Guild for Exceptiona ...

(later Alstom) signed a

Private Finance Initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...

(PFI) deal worth £400m to provide 106 six-car trains. Unlike previous rolling stock contracts on the Underground, GEC Alsthom were contracted to design, build and finance the new trains - as well as maintain the trains for at least a 20 year period (extendable to 36 years). London Underground then pays Alstom depending on the availability and reliability of the trains. The trains were built in

Washwood Heath Washwood Heath is a ward in Birmingham, within the formal district of Hodge Hill, roughly two miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, England. Washwood Heath covers the areas of Birmingham that lie between Nechells, Bordesley Green, Stechf ...

, Birmingham, although the bodyshells were manufactured in and imported from Spain. Construction began in 1996, with one car going on public display as part of the Lord Mayor's Show on 9 November 1996. The first train was delivered to Ruislip depot on 20 December 1996, and testing began in early 1997. The first train entered passenger service on 12 June 1998, and the final train entered service on 10 April 2001.

Refurbishment

Starting in 2013, the 1995 Stock underwent refurbishment, more than a decade after the last trains of this type entered service. Internally, new flooring was fitted, with contrasting colours in the doorways, and the yellow grab rails were re-painted dark blue. The new standard London Underground "Barman"

moquette Moquette, derived from the French word for carpet, is a type of woven pile fabric in which cut or uncut threads form a short dense cut or loop pile. As well as giving it a distinctive velvet-like feel, the pile construction is particularly durabl ...

was also introduced, and wheelchair backboards were installed in the trailer cars. The external door open/close buttons were plated over, and the internal buttons were replaced by a visual door open/close warning light. The windows were polished to remove graffiti, and the external livery was re-applied. The refurbishment was carried out by Alstom, and the first refurbished train entered service on 30 May 2013, and the last refurbished train had entered service by 13 April 2015. In 2015, TfL agreed to extend the PFI train maintenance contract until 2033, when the trains will be around 35 years old.

Design

The 1995 Stock is very similar to the 1996 Stock used on the

. Both trains use the same bodyshell design, and were built at the same factory at the same time. However, there are some major differences, mostly relating to the mechanical and electrical equipment. The main technical differences arose as 1996 Stock was designed for "cheapest contract cost", while 1995 Stock was designed for "life cycle cost", given Alstom's long term interest in reliability due to their PFI maintenance contract. The most noticeable difference is the type of

traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric vehicle, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles (ele ...

used. The 1996 Stock design specification was "frozen" in 1991, meaning that despite the name, the 1995 Stock actually uses more modern equipment. The 1995 stock uses Alstom's "Onix" three-phase

insulated-gate bipolar transistor An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating lay ...

(IGBT) drive, whereas the 1996 stock uses three-phase induction motors fed from a single-source

inverter A power inverter, inverter or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the opp ...

using a

gate turn-off thyristor A gate turn-off thyristor (GTO) is a special type of thyristor, which is a high-power (.e.g. 1200V AC) semiconductor device. It was invented by General Electric. GTOs, as opposed to normal thyristors, are fully controllable switches which can be ...

(GTO), derived from those on / ''Networker'' trains. This means that, unlike the 1996 Stock, the 1995 Stock does not make the same "gear changing" noise when accelerating from rest. Another major difference is the type of

bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...

used. The 1995 stock uses Adtranz bogies with

air suspension Air suspension is a type of vehicle suspension powered by an electric or engine-driven air pump or compressor. This compressor pumps the air into a flexible bellows, usually made from textile-reinforced rubber. Unlike hydropneumatic suspension, ...

to cope with the difficult track conditions of the more extensive underground sections of the Northern line, whereas the 1996 stock uses Alstom bogies with rubber suspensions. Other differences include tip-up seats in the middle of each coach, instead of perch seats on the 1996 stock, as well the use of orange

LEDs A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

for the passenger information displays, as opposed to the red LEDs used on the 1996 stock. Each train is made up of two three-car units, coupled together, with each unit consisting of a Driving Motor car (DM), a Trailer car (T) and an Uncoupling Non-Driving Motor car (UNDM). The six-car trains are therefore formed DM-T-UNDM+UNDM-T-DM. Some trailer cars are fitted with a de-icing tank and applicators, in order to spray de-icing fluid on the conductor rails along above-ground sections of track; these cars are marked by a small circle after their car number. The 1995 Stock is the only deep-level tube stock to use

selective door operation Selective door operation (SDO), also known as selective door opening, is a mechanism employed primarily on trains (although buses with multiple doors also generally have this feature) that allows the driver or conductor/guard to open the doors of ...

, necessitated by short platforms at stations such as , , and .

Maintenance

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

is responsible for maintaining the trains under a PFI contract which runs until 2033. The main depot is at

Golders Green Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...

, with another large depot at

Morden Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester Pa ...

, and two smaller depots at

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

and

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

Diagram (Non-Refurbished)

References

External links

1995 Tube Stock specifications (TfL)

1995 Tube Stock - Squarewheels.org.uk
{{Northern line navbox

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Train-related introductions in 1998