Launch Date for Night Tube on Central Line Confirmed

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24 hour service starts on 19 August but other lines must wait until Autumn

Night Tube services on the Central line are to begin on the 19 August the new Mayor has announced today (23 May).

The 24 hour weekend services will run between Ealing Broadway and Loughton / Hainault with the Victoria line service also starting on that day.

The Piccadilly line will get night trains 'in the autumn' along with the Jubilee and Northern lines. Earlier the Mayor's office had indicated that the roll out would be in August and September so the less specific date may indicate there has been some slippage in the timetable.

The Night Tube will mean 24-hour weekend services for the first time in London’s history, helping to cut night-time journeys by an average of 20 minutes, with some cut by more than an hour according to the Mayor's office.

The start of Night Tube services on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines will follow in two separate phases later in the autumn as new Tube drivers complete their training and final preparations are made. Around 200 part-time drivers are currently taking part in a 14-week training programme.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: "The Night Tube is absolutely vital to my plans to support and grow London's night time economy - creating more jobs and opportunities for all Londoners. The constant delays under the previous Mayor let Londoners down badly.”

Late night Tube usage is increasing at double the rate of daytime trips and demand for travel on night buses has risen by over 170 per cent since 2000 according to Transport for London data.

To meet the expected demand for Night Tube services, there will be six trains per hour through central London on all Night Tube lines between 0030 and 0530. This will rise to eight trains per hour on the Northern line to meet demand at busy stations between Leicester Square and Camden Town.

London will join just a handful of other international cities, including New York and Berlin, which also provide metro services through the night.

London’s Transport Commissioner, Mike Brown, said: “It is good news for London that the first ever all-night Tube service will be ready on 19 August. More than half a million people use the Tube after 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and the introduction of the Night Tube, which will support London's businesses and jobs, is a historic step in our modernisation of the Underground and our work to support London’s economic growth."

May 23, 2016