Metronet, the public-private partnership responsible for maintaining two thirds of the London Underground, has started testing radio signal communications systems.

The technology is being trialled on the Victoria Line and will ultimately enable new trains to run more frequently, improving journey times by as much as 16 per cent.

Automatic positioning transponders will be installed at 100 metre intervals along the track to determine exact train positions. Data transmission units will then send the information into a new state-of-the-art control centre.

It will allow trains to run faster and closer together, says Metronet vice president Alistair Kennedy.

‘For the first time, radio communication has been successfully tested between a train and signal equipment rooms, between Blackhorse Road and Tottenham Hale stations,’ he said. ‘This is a major step on the way to proving the signalling system.’

To test the system, new equipment and test instruments were fitted to a standard Tube train. Prior to live tests on the Victoria Line, trials were held on a specially equipped test track in Derby.

Testing will continue during planned engineering works as signal installation moves down the line.