Night tube a boon to London's night time economy

After years of delays London’s underground service has finally caught up with cities such as Berlin, Barcelona and New York as the night tube takes its first ever run on Saturday.

At 0034 the first night tube will take off from Brixton station. The service will run for 24 hours each Friday and Saturday on the Victoria line and most of the Central line. The Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines will be rolled out in autumn.

The night tube is thought to boost the city’s night time economy. Transport for London said it would add about £6.4bn to London’s economy by 2030, £77m to the UK’s economy per year and create 500,000 jobs.

Apart from the boon to party revellers in the city, the night service would aid the capital’s many night workers. TFL said more than half of the people who take the night buses use them for going to or from work.

London First, a lobby group, said that night activity accounted for about 8% of London economy and supported one in eight jobs in the city.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, said: “It will support thousands of workers who have to travel to or from work at night, it will provide huge economic benefits to our vital night-time economy and it will help Londoners get home quickly and safely after a night out.”

London’s transport commissioner, Mike Brown, said: “The night tube is going to be a massive benefit for our half a million and more customers who use the Tube after 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Its introduction is a historic step in the modernisation of the Underground and our continuing work to make life easier for Londoners and to support London’s economic growth."

The night tube had several delays since its first inception three years ago from funding and strikes from unions, as staff demanded higher pay and had safety concerns. Former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, had hoped to get the service underway by July, but new Mayor Sadiq Khan will travel on its maiden journey from Brixton.

Khan told the BBC: "Think of the theatres, the live music venues, the restaurants. I'm really pleased and proud that finally the night tube is here. Boris Johnson deserves credit for talking about the night tube, but it was important to get the details right. I'm really pleased and proud that finally it's going to happen."

London is playing catch-up to other big cities. Berlin’s U-bahn runs all hours at the weekend, Barcelona metro runs all night on Saturdays, New York’s subway runs 24 hours a day every day, and Stockholm’s metro runs all hours at the weekend.

Trains will run every 10 minutes from the Victoria line and on the Central line between White City and Leytonstone. Between Ealing Broadway and White City and between Leytonstone and Loughton trains will run every 20 minutes.