Night Tube set to kick off in 2015

For the first time in its 151-year history, tube trains will run overnight at weekends.

On Wednesday, Transport for London (TfL) has announced the capital's 24-hour weekend service, set to kick off in time for next year Rugby World Cup.

The event itself is expected to draw 400,000 extra visitors to Britain in 2015, between September 18 and October 31.

The service, which will continue permanently after the World Cup ends, will see the five busiest lines running for 24 hours from Friday morning to Sunday night.

TfL plans to run six trains an hour on the Victoria, Piccadilly, Jubilee and Central lines. The Northern line will run eight trains per hour, instead.

Not only the extra-trains will provide tens of thousands of Londoners with a convenient way to return home, the service is also expected to give a boost to London’s economy, creating around 2,000 jobs, considering both the extra staff to run the Night Tube and those who will be employed in London’s night-time business.

According to Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the Night Tube’s evolution “will make London an even better place to live, work, visit and invest” . 

For years the capital was told not to do this because tubes needed to be closed in the small hours of the night to enable the upgrades.

“Now we have done a lot of that (…..). With our large investment and upgrades that have been delivered (…), we can go ahead with 24-hour trains, a more ambitious service”, Mr Johnson said. 

Demand for it is demonstrated by the surge of late night London journeys, rising at twice the rate of daytime trips. Back in 2005, a proposal for an all-night service was backed by nearly three-quarters of Londoners.

Moneywise,  the Night Tube will be self-funding as a projected £291 million in additional fare revenue will cover the operational and capital costs.

Leon Daniels, TfL’s managing Director for Surface Transport, said: ” Funding will come from the increase fare revenues, from more people travelling and travelling more often “.

However, not everyone is focused on the bright side of this important project.

The National Union of  Rail, Maritime and Transport workers (RTM) said a 24-hour service will leave passengers and staff exposed to higher levels of violence and crime.

RTM representative John Leech, said: “The underground will become a far more dangerous place,  you would have people travelling home late at night, when the party is over, (…) there will be aggression and alcohol, maybe,  and we are very concerned about that.  We need more staff, better security, more police “.

While Wednesday’s announcement is a sign TfL intends to press on with its plan, the Unions are threatening more industrial action before the end of the year.