If you follow London transport news even casually, 2025 has been packed with headlines about the London Underground, from strike action and power cuts to exciting train upgrades and persistent service myths. But what’s fact, what’s fiction, and what should regular and occasional passengers actually take away from all the headlines?

Let’s dive into the biggest stories of late, and examine whether they signal danger, inconvenience, rumours run wild, or real change for the Tube.

The 2025 Strike Season, Chaos or Negotiation?

One of the most talked-about themes this year has been industrial action on the Tube.

In September 2025, almost every London Underground line faced disruption or walkouts after negotiations between Transport for London (TfL) and the RMT union broke down. Strikes stretched across multiple days and weeks, causing severe delays or even temporary network shutdowns. The disruption was significant enough that major events, such as Coldplay concerts at Wembley Stadium, were rescheduled to accommodate travel chaos.

But here’s the key point: strike action is a labour dispute, not an indicator the Tube is unsafe.

Strikes are disruptive, yes, and they genuinely made travel harder for commuters, tourists, and event-goers, but they do not mean the underground network is physically dangerous. What they do highlight is the real human element behind this massive system: the people who operate it, maintain tracks, and keep trains running on time. In fact, the RMT has since secured a three-year pay deal, a testament to the power of negotiation in stabilising workforce morale and long-term operations.
RMT

Myth busted: Strikes = danger.
Reality: Strikes = disrupted service and negotiations, not compromised infrastructure or public safety systems.

Network Power Cut, System Vulnerability or Rare Event?

In May 2025, a major power cut, triggered by a fire at an electrical substation, knocked out service on six Tube lines and part of the Elizabeth line simultaneously. Roughly 20 stations were closed, and several trains were delayed in tunnels (sometimes for nearly 40 minutes).
The Standard

Head-turning as that was, it’s essential to understand context:

Infrastructure is old. Parts of the Tube network date back more than a century, and updating electrical systems across such an extensive network is a huge engineering challenge.

This was an unusual event. Catastrophic power loss of this scale doesn’t happen often.

TfL response protocols worked. Passengers were evacuated, services were restored, and investigations followed.

In other words, this was significant but not a systemic safety failure. It was a reminder that even giant systems can have vulnerabilities, and that resilience and redundancy remain top priorities.

Myth busted: If the Tube loses power, it’s unsafe forever.
Reality: Failures happen, but the response systems are designed specifically to protect passengers.

New Trains & Upgrades, Not Just Rumours

There’s been buzz on social media and forums about the new Piccadilly line trains, and often, confusion about when they’re actually coming into service.

After months of testing, new state-of-the-art Piccadilly line trains, with air-conditioning, wider doors, digital displays, and improved CCTV, are officially slated to begin service in 2026.
Transport for London

Yes, they’re delayed relative to some early rumours that they would arrive in 2025, but this is normal for major engineering programmes on a live transport network. Integrating new stock into tunnels and signalling systems that have evolved over more than a century is highly complex, not a sign of dysfunction.

Myth busted: New trains won’t happen or have been abandoned.
Reality: They’re coming, later than some hoped, but they’re real and represent major progress.

Service Disruptions, Delays & Seasonal Effects

Another frequent claim on Underground forums is that the Tube’s reliability is deteriorating year on year. The truth is more nuanced.

Weather, especially leaf fall and storms in autumn 2024–25, caused unusually heavy leaf accumulations on the Piccadilly line, leading to track slippery conditions and service slowdowns or suspensions.

This kind of issue does happen on railways worldwide; leaves and moisture combine to reduce traction, which necessitates slower service or remedial engineering, not evidence of neglect.

Issues like signal failures, engineering works, and planned closures also cause occasional disruptions, again, not an indicator of unsafe operations, but of ongoing maintenance and upgrades that are essential for safety.

Myth busted: Delays = danger.
Reality: Delays can be annoying and inconvenient, but they’re usually about maintenance, weather, or logistics, not systemic safety problems.

Passenger Safety, Real Concerns & Real Work

News stories and surveys show some passengers do feel unsafe, particularly regarding crime and harassment. TfL acknowledges this, crime data shows a modest increase in reported incidents on public transport, and continues to work closely with British Transport Police to tackle theft, violence, and harassment.

Another safety angle that isn’t a rumour involves passenger behaviour, such as intoxication on platforms, and tragic incidents in the past have led coroners to urge safety improvements around this issue.

These concerns matter, and they’re being addressed, but they are behavioural and social risks, not inherent risks from the Tube’s infrastructure itself.

Important nuance: Feeling unsafe and actual unsafe infrastructure are not the same thing.

Final Thoughts, What’s Real, What’s Rumour

So after all the headlines about strikes, power outages, delays, and upgrade gossip, here’s the bottom line:

• Strikes affect service but are about labour relations, not danger.
• One-off power issues highlight resilience challenges, not systemic failure.
• New trains are real and arriving soon, despite delays.
• Delays often have sensible root causes rooted in weather or necessary maintenance.
• Passenger safety perception and community crime concerns are real and being actively managed.

The London Underground remains one of the most robust and well-tested urban transit systems in the world. Like any system of its age and scale, it faces challenges, but most headlines reflect inconvenience and press attention, not catastrophic risk.