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Transport for London (TfL) will be allowed to miss a government deadline to bring all Tube trains up to minimum accessibility requirements.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has granted TfL more time to put in place systems that would make the London Underground more easily accessible to people with disabilities.

One of the main factors in the delay for upgrades, which were due by Wednesday (January 1, 2020), was the collapse of partnerships set up to look after the infrastructure of certain Tube lines, according to a letter written by London Underground's managing director to the DfT pleading for an extension.

As a result of the collapses, trains on four lines - Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo and City have not been replaced or refurbished. The Bakerloo has now not undergone a significant refurbishment in almost 40 years, since the trains were commissioned in 1972.

The new accessibility requirements were put in place nationally in 2010 as part of the Equality Act and include regulations on issues like the height of priority seats, announcements when train doors open at stations and ramps to allow easy boarding, which would make transport around London easier and safer.

On the Central line alone, there are 17 regulations not met by the trains which should have been in place by the start of 2020.

Extensions have been granted for trains on all four lines until 2024, by which time London Underground has said it will be able to make all trains accessible to the minimum legal requirement.

(Image: Thomas Riggs)

Wheelchair bays will be introduced on all Bakerloo line trains by the end of 2021 alongside all other requirements, while just one Central line train will be upgraded out of 170 trains on the lines by the end of 2020.

All trains are timetabled for the necessary upgrades by the end of 2024.

The Piccadilly line trains were refurbished last in 1994 and have higher levels of compliance, while new trains are due to start running on the line by 2024.

Despite this, London Underground has promised to "improve compliance in the outstanding areas where possible".

The necessary upgrades have been already made to Jubilee and Northern line trains, while the S stock trains running on the Circle, Metropolitan and District lines were commissioned after the Act and already comply.

Transport for London's operational budget deficit is estimated to be around £500 million, which has decreased from a figure of a billion pounds last year.

Meanwhile statistics show that both Tube and bus passengers numbers are declining.

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Peter McNaught, Director of Asset Operations for London Underground, said: "We understand how challenging it can be for people with accessibility needs to travel around London.

"That’s why we’ve invested significantly to make more than two thirds of our trains fully accessible and more than 200 Tube and rail stations step-free.

“We are also investing in upgrading the remaining trains as soon as possible, starting with the Bakerloo line in January and the Central line later in 2020.

"We’re also introducing new accessible trains along the Piccadilly line from 2024 and have a programme to deliver many more step-free stations."