London Night Tube: Mayor Sadiq Khan urged to set date for full reopening of all five lines

TfL says Night Tube service on Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines won’t restart until 2022
Three Night Tube lines will remain closed until next year
PA Archive
Ross Lydall @RossLydall11 November 2021

Sadiq Khan was on Thursday facing demands to set out a timetable for the full reopening of the Night Tube.

But no date has been set for the return of Night Tube services on the Northern, Piccadilly and Jubilee lines, with Transport for London saying none will restart before next year.

This is because the Northern line will be part-closed for 17 weeks from mid-January to complete the upgrade of Bank station. In addition, there is a delay in retraining Tube drivers.

More than 150,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the full restoration of the Night Tube to improve women’s safety at night.

Two of the Night Tube lines reopen on November 27
TfL

Emma Best, a Tory member of the London Assembly, will on Thursday seek cross-party support at an assembly plenary meeting, urging Mr Khan to publish a full reopening plan.

She said: “The Mayor has left Londoners in the dark about when the Night Tube will fully reopen. A vague commitment to reopen the three other lines ‘as soon as possible’ isn’t good enough.

"I’ve witnessed and experienced inappropriate sexual behaviour at night on London’s streets, in taxis and at bus stops. Sadly, a lot of women have. That’s why the Night Tube is so important - its stations offer Londoners a safe haven at night and a trusted route home.”

Labour assembly members are also putting pressure on Mr Khan to fully reopen the service, and have submitted questions ahead of next week’s Mayor’s Question Time.

Critics suspect the shortage of drivers is linked to the decision to scrap the Night Tube pay rates, which almost sparked industrial action this summer.

Night Tube drivers, many of whom worked part-time, were asked to work day shifts at the peak of the pandemic to cover for absent colleagues. Covid restrictions have impacted on retraining sessions.

TfL says it also faces the challenge of having to integrate the Night Tube reopening with weekend closures of the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines as part of the Four Lines Modernisation signalling upgrade.

The Night Overground reopens on December 17
TfL

The Night Overground will run every 15 minutes throughout the night on Fridays and Saturdays, boosting links for the night-time economy around Old Street and Shoreditch.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We are playing, and will continue to play, our full role in London’s recovery from the pandemic. The Tube continues to operate between approximately 5.30am and 12.30am through central London from Monday to Saturday, and we have started running some trains earlier on Sunday mornings. Our extensive night bus network continues to operate.

“We are working to reintroduce the full Friday and Saturday Night Tube on the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines as soon as possible, in a safe and viable way.

“We cannot do it now because we are dealing with delays to driver training as a result of restrictions during the pandemic. The return of these lines also has to be coordinated with vital upgrades to the Tube network and the necessary engineering closures. We can assure customers that the remaining Night Tube lines will return as quickly as is possible in 2022.”

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