Tube bosses have begun begun trials of an innovative new cooling system for deep-level Tube lines which it hopes could bring down temperatures for passengers and reduce maintenance costs.

It comes as record-high temperatures of 40C last week brought widespread disruption to London’s transport network, with stations closed and many services delayed or cancelled.

The new cooling system being developed by Transport for London (TfL) involves the use of “state of the art” cooling panels, which work by circulating cold water around pipework within a curved metal structure, while industrial-sized fans circulate air around the structure which, in turn, produces a chilling effect.

Trials are currently being conducted on a disused platform at Holborn station, with plans in place to expand the trial to an active platform at Knightsbridge station.

The project is being developed as part of the government’s TIES Living Lab programme – a collaboration of 25 partners aimed at increasing productivity and value for money of transport infrastructure projects.

TfL has said it hopes the new cooling panels could cut operational and maintenance costs of cooling the Tube network by 50 per cent compared to current methods.

Following the completion of further trials, TfL is aiming to install the cooling panels at five stations on the Piccadilly Line – Knightsbridge, Holborn, Green Park, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus – in preparation for a fleet upgrade on the line in 2025 which would see the frequency of services increase to 27 trains per hour.

Paul Judge, TfL’s project director for the Piccadilly Line upgrade, said the new technology could “play an important role in ensuring we are doing everything we can to protect TfL’s network against future temperature increases” by keeping passengers and staff “safe and comfortable”.

He said: “The cooling panel project is supporting the Piccadilly Line Upgrade, which will see new state-of-the-art trains with more space, air-conditioning, walk-through carriages and improved accessibility running at greater frequencies on the line.

“By seeking innovative solutions to cool platforms on the deep Tube network, we will be able to support future Piccadilly line train frequency increases with the possibility that the technology could be used on other Underground lines.”

Tests in a lab environment have seen the cooling panels achieve temperature reductions of between 10C and 15C, which TfL hopes to replicate during live trials at Holborn.

If the trials are successful, TfL hopes the cooling panels could provide a solution to cooling on other deep Tube lines which it said has proved “prohibitively expensive” in the past.

Though the project has received 70 per cent of its funding from the Department for Transport, TfL has said the expansion of trials and rollout of the technology on other Tube lines would be dependent on securing a long-term funding deal from the Government.TfL officials have until 28 July to hash out a new funding agreement with the Department for Transport following a second short-term extension to the existing bailout earlier this month.

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