Since the London Underground's inception, the practice of running night-time services has been difficult, mainly due to night-time noise factors, and the ongoing maintenance works that usually occur during the night. General mass upgrades to the overall London Underground network from the late-1990s onwards, along with large infrastructure improvements to stations and signalling, plus the building of Crossrail which will have sections going underground to connect with the main London Underground system, made it possible to introduce a limited night-time Tube service. The Waterloo & City and sub-surface lines have yet to be upgraded and re-signalled, but it is expected that when these works are completed on these lines, they will also have 24-hour services. Other services such as London Overground and Docklands Light Railway will have overnight services in the near future to connect with Night Tube services. On the sub-surface lines, night tube services are planned to be introduced on the Metropolitan between Aldgate and Harrow-on-the-Hill, on the District line between Barking and Wimbledon, and on the Hammersmith & City line between Hammersmith and Tower Hill.
History
TfL announced in mid-2014 the introduction of the Night Tube. The initial plans were for a Friday and Saturday night service on a limited number of lines, with, on average, a train every 10 minutes or less, continuing from around midnight when train services usually close to around 5 a.m. and into the usual morning service. The planned service was on the whole of the Jubilee and Victoria lines. In addition to that, there was planned services on the Central line between Ealing Broadway and Hainault or Loughton, the Northern line between Morden and Edgware or High Barnet via Charing Cross, and the Piccadilly line between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5. The service was scheduled to launch on 11/12 September 2015, with the prospect of expansion across further lines in subsequent years. However, due to strike action, the start of the Night Tube was postponed.
Strike action
Members of several unions decided to take strike action in relation to the terms and conditions being offered by London Underground, largely regarding agreements specifically over the pay deal and hours worked by new Night Tube service personnel. Members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, and Unite officially started the first 24-hour strike at 18:30 BST on 8 July 2015, and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen drivers starting their 24-hour action from 21:30 BST on 8 July 2015, with disruption occurring several hours either side of the start and finish times. London Underground warned there could be no services on Thursday as a result of the walk-out. The strike affected all Tube lines and finished at 21:30 BST on 9 July 2015. A second 24-hour strike action by London Underground trade unions took place from 18:30 BST on 5 August 2015 until 05:00 BST on 7 August 2015, and there was no service at all on 6 August 2015. Three unions also threatened to strike on 25 and 27 August 2015, where talks were held between the unions and London Underground for negotiations. ASLEF decided not to participate in the planned strikes. On 27 August 2015, it was announced that the start date for the Night Tube had been pushed back due to ongoing talks about contract terms between trade unions and London Underground. Following agreement of new terms by TfL and the unions, Night Tube operations were confirmed to start in the second half of 2016. The Central and Victoria line services started on 19 August 2016. The Jubilee line services started on 7 October 2016, the Northern line on 18 November 2016 and the Piccadilly line on 16 December 2016.
The current typical Night Tube services are as follows:
Predicted benefits
TfL estimated that the Night Tube would lead to the creation of 1,965 permanent jobs, the net additional output produced as a result equating to an additional £360m over 30 years. These include:
An estimated 1,965 permanent jobs supported by the Night Tube — 265 through direct operation of the service and 1,700 indirectly in the night-time economy, taking into account impacts on London's night-time economy and the additional London Underground staff required.
Time savings of, on average, 20 minutes on some routes.
Standard business case shows that for each £1 spent on delivering the Night Tube, benefits will be £2.70. Adding in wider economic impacts increases this benefit by £1.20 for every pound spent.
In addition to the above quantifiable benefits, other benefits TfL believe the service is likely to deliver include:
Reduced demand for illegal minicabs, thus improved safety in taxis at night.
Improved commuter journeys for many people who work during the night-time in central London but live outside the centre.
Potential for longer operating hours for pubs, bars, clubs, restaurants, bowling alleys, cinemas, museums, art galleries, and other attractions.
Reduced congestion at stations after events at entertainment venues like the O2, as people are not in such a rush to leave to catch the last Tube as events finish.
Improved accessibility to Heathrow for passengers flying or entering before 07:00 at the weekend.
