The Night Tube and London Overground Night Service, often referred to simply as Night Tube, is a service pattern on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

("Tube") and

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...

systems which provides through-the-night services on Friday and Saturday nights on the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

, Northern,

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

, and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

lines, and a short section of the London Overground's East London line. The service began on the night of Friday 19 August 2016, providing 24-hour service on these routes from Friday morning to Sunday evening each weekend. It was suspended from Friday 20 March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the service partially reopening on Saturday 27 November 2021 and fully restored by Friday 29 July 2022.

Background

Since the London Underground's inception, the practice of running night-time services has been difficult, mainly due to night-time noise, and maintenance work that is usually carried out 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 Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...

(with the future probability of

Crossrail 2 Crossrail 2 is a proposed hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit route in South East England, running from nine stations in Surrey to three in Hertfordshire, providing a new North–South rail link across Greater London. It would connect the ...

) 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.

History

TfL announced in mid-2014 the introduction of the Night Tube. The initial plans were for Friday and Saturday through the night services 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

and

lines. In addition to that, there was planned services on the Central line between

Ealing Broadway Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

and Hainault or

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

, the

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

between

Morden Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester ...

and

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

High Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Charing Cr ...

via

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

, and the Piccadilly line between

Cockfosters Cockfosters is a suburb of north London to the east of Chipping Barnet, lying partly in the London Borough of Enfield and partly in the London Borough of Barnet. Before 1965, it was in the counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. Origins and ...

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 until 18 August 2016.

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 The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (commonly known as the RMT) is a British trade union covering the transport sector. Its current President is Alex Gordon and its current General Secretary is Mick Lynch. The RMT is on ...

(RMT),

Transport Salaried Staffs' Association The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, Derby, Dublin, Manche ...

(TSSA), and

Unite Unite may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London * ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993 * ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005 Songs ...

officially started the first 24-hour strike at 18:30 BST on 8 July 2015, and the

Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) is a British trade union representing train drivers. It is part of the International Transport Workers' Federation and the European Transport Workers' Federation. At the end of ...

(ASLEF) 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.

Service launch

The first Night Tube train ran on the night of Friday 19 August 2016, with the Central and Victoria line services starting that night. The Jubilee line services started on 7 October 2016, the Northern line on 18 November 2016 and the Piccadilly line on 16 December 2016. On 15 December 2017 the

started the East London line night service running between

Dalston Junction Dalston Junction (pronounced ) is an inter-modal rail and bus transport interchange in Dalston, London. It is located at the crossroads of Dalston Lane, Kingsland Road and Balls Pond Road. The station served by London Overground East London li ...

and

New Cross Gate New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwi ...

. This was extended to Highbury & Islington on 23 February 2018.

Coronavirus pandemic

Night Tube services were suspended from Friday 20 March 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. It was originally planned to restart in Spring 2021, but in April 2021 it was announced that the service would stay closed until at least 2022. However, in November 2021, Night Tube services on the Central and Victoria lines reopened for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, after an 18-month hiatus. The East London Line on the London Overground reopened on 17 December 2021, the Jubilee line on 21 May 2022, and the Northern Line also reopened on 2 July 2022. The Piccadilly line was the last to re-open, with the original service restored from 29 July 2022.

Services

Typical Night Tube services were as follows:

Expected 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 (i.e. £12m per year). 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 (but in some cases up to an hour) 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 believed the service was likely to deliver include: *Reduced demand for illegal

minicab Taxicabs are regulated throughout the United Kingdom, but the regulation of taxicabs in London is especially rigorous with regard to mechanical integrity and driver knowledge. An official report observed that: "Little however is known about ...

s, thus improved safety in

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

s 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 The O2 is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants. It was built largely withi ...

, as people are not in such a rush to leave to catch the last Tube as events finish. *Improved accessibility to

Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

for passengers flying or entering before 07:00 at the weekend.

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

* – official Night Tube site. services listed, preceded by heading "Night Tube services are currently suspended". * - official London Overground Night Service site. services listed, preceded by heading "The London Overground Night is currently suspended". {{navboxes, title=Night Tube and Overground, list1= {{Transport in London {{Britishmetros {{Central line navbox {{Jubilee line navbox {{Northern line navbox {{Piccadilly line navbox {{Victoria line navbox {{London Overground navbox, ELL=y Electric railways in the United Kingdom London Underground Modes of transport in London Rail infrastructure in London Subterranean London Underground rapid transit in England 2016 establishments in England Night trains of the United Kingdom