- 24 hour Friday and Saturday night services go live on the Central and Victoria lines tonight
- Around 2,000 permanent jobs for Londoners supported – boosting the economy by £77m a year
- Mayor Sadiq Khan says Night Tube Launch will bring ‘wonderful benefits to London’
- New video poem released to celebrate Night Tube launch
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today hailed the start of 24 hour weekend Night Tube services.
Night Tube services will launch on the Central and Victoria lines late tonight, cutting late-night journey times by an average of 20 minutes, and in some cases by more than hour.
The new service will help Londoners get to work or get home at night quickly, safely and affordably, and will particularly benefit people working shifts early in the morning or late at night.
Figures from TfL show that more than 50 per cent of people using Night Buses are going to or returning from work – many of whom will benefit directly from the Night Tube.
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 00:30 and 05:30.
The Night Tube will also play a vital role in showing the world that London Is Open by boosting the capital’s economy by £77m a year, supporting around 2,000 permanent jobs and opening up London’s night-time economy to a host of new opportunities.
Sadiq Khan said:
“The launch of the Night Tube this evening will provide wonderful benefits to London. 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."
Today City Hall has also released a short film created by a young rising star from Ilford called Hussain Manawer. In the film Hussain, taking inspiration from the Mayor’s #LondonisOpen campaign, performs an original poem he has written about the launch of the Night Tube and its potential to change the lives of Londoners.
The film shows Hussain as he moves through a Tube station at night interacting with Londoners of all backgrounds. His words highlight that the all-night services are not just for party-goers, but for London to keep operating at every level for every person.
Notes to editors
Demand for night-time travel is on the rise. 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.
The Mayor is investing an extra £3.4 million towards policing for the Night Tube. This will see around 100 officers out on the network when full services are underway, with at least as many officers out during the night as would be seen during the day.
The Night Tube will mean Londoners and visitors to the Capital can travel on the following lines on Friday and Saturday nights and the early hours of Saturday and Sunday mornings:
• Central line: trains will run between Ealing Broadway and Loughton / Hainault
• Victoria line: trains will run on the entire line
• Jubilee line: trains will run on the entire line
• Northern line: trains will run on the entire line except on the Mill Hill East and Bank branches
• Piccadilly line: trains will run between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5
The film featuring Hussain Manawer’s Night Tube poem is available here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbjZksDF4gs
Music for the film was provided by a young music producer called Moghul Veyron who has moved from working with grime artists to working on the score for Hollywood feature films. Moghul teamed up with Hussain and produced music to compliment the lyrics for the Night Tube campaign with the use of warm pianos, upbeat synths and subtle baselines to encapsulate a timeless sound.
In November 2015 Hussain Manawer became Kruger Cowne’s Rising Star after an inspirational performance at the One Young World Summit 2015 in Bangkok. With his enthusiastic on-stage presence, Hussain pressed hard the issues surrounding mental health awareness, leading to a standing ovation and an influx of social media support.
The talented young poet takes time out of his schedule to visit schools across the country, speaking to young people on issues such as cyber bullying and the importance of self-expression through the arts.
The Mayor’s #LondonIsOpen campaign aims to show the world that London remains entrepreneurial, international, and full of creativity and possibility, while reassuring the more than one million foreign nationals who live in London that they will always be welcome, and that any form of discrimination will not be tolerated.
The Mayor is urging all Londoners, organisations and businesses to show their support for the #LondonIsOpen message via social media, through other creative ways.