Night Tube Map To Grow Even Further With More Lines Added To Weekend Services

HURRAH! Even More Of London's Tube Network Is Going 24-Hour

Good news Londoners (and those lucky enough to be visiting) - even more of the capital's travel network is going to run 24-hours at weekends.

As if that wasn't enough, the Metropolitan, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, and the DLR will follow suit in 2021.

The announcement is part of a package of measures to help the capital outstrip New York in the coming years.

The first stage of the night Tube rollout coming in September. Even more services will be offered in 2017 and 2021 ENLARGE

The plans, which include drawing up a "Domesday Book" of publicly-owned land to be earmarked for new housing, will create half a million jobs by 2020 and add £6.4 billion to the capital's economy by 2030, according to Government estimates.

Chancellor George Osborne and mayor Boris Johnson said 24-hour services will be expanded on the Tube and extended to London Overground and the Docklands Light Railway.

After an early-morning visit to London Underground to view maintenance work being carried out, they outlined a six-point plan including 24-hour London Overground services in 2017, all-night services on the Docklands Light Railway by 2021, and an expansion of 24-hour Tube services, as well as extended wi-fi on the Tube.

Rail unions described the announcement as a "blatant pre-election stunt" and queried how the £6.4 billion had been worked out.

Night-time Tube services will be expanded to the Metropolitan, Circle, District, and Hammersmith and City lines once Transport for London's modernisation programmes are completed.

The Government said it will provide £10 billion of funding for investment in new TfL infrastructure over the next parliament, including new Tube improvements, better roads, more buses and cycle lanes, amid predictions that London's population will top 10 million by the early 2030s.

All-night DLR. This is the dream people.

The mayor of London also confirmed plans for 200 more Routemaster buses this year and committed to 800 new buses a year from next year onwards, securing jobs in Ballymena and Falkirk, where 90% of TfL's buses are manufactured.

Mr Johnson said: "As London's population continues to grow, it is investments in infrastructure such as this which will ensure that the capital remains competitive and the best big city to live in.

"Today we have committed to additional night Tube services, the first 24-hour London Overground and the purchase of hundreds of brand new buses. This, combined with the promise of future investment in projects such as Crossrail 2 and the Bakerloo Line extension, will ensure we keep the capital's economy moving well into the 21st century."

Launching the plan at the Tate Modern art gallery, Mr Osborne said: "This is our long-term economic plan for London. To grow our city and outpace New York.

"To create over half a million new jobs, build over 400,000 new homes, provide £10 billion on new transport, back business and science and culture here, give a voice to people here and make London the greatest capital city on earth for the next generation of Londoners."

As part of a plan to deliver new homes for London's growing population, which has reached 8.6 million, the highest point since 1939, and is forecast to reach 11 million by 2050, a London Land Commission will identify public sector sites for development.

The mayor said the commission was "something we have wanted for a long time" and would produce a "Domesday Book of public land" in the capital to assist with plans to create 400,000 homes over the next decade.

He also highlighted powers that would give the mayor responsibility for housing projects of more than 50 units if they were held up in the local planning process.

Responding to the Tube announcement, Mick Cash, leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, said: "This announcement has been dropped on London by the mayor as a blatant pre-election stunt without a shred of consultation with the union.

Story continues after slideshow...

"That is a ridiculous way to conduct important negotiations and to unveil major service developments.

"RMT is not opposed to extended running but there are massive issues on staffing, safety and maintenance which have not been addressed and which would need to be signed off by our reps.

"This announcement has been made against the backdrop of a near doubling in assaults on staff, cuts to over 1,000 jobs and the axing of guards on London Overground.

"Night running would mean increased drunkenness and risks to both passengers and staff alike and could only work with substantial increases in staffing right across the board, and that means an immediate reversal of the current cuts programme."

Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA rail union, said: "Boris Johnson's publicity stunts are getting more and more desperate and deluded as he heads for the exit door at City Hall to become an MP on May 7 for Uxbridge.

"How he and George Osborne think they can dream up policies in Tory Central Office for the next Labour mayor to follow when he or she is elected next year is beyond me.

"His night Tube starting in September will lose millions and is not due to break even for another 18 years, and yet here he is, with another back-of-a-fag-packet publicity stunt."

Nick Brown, LU's chief operating officer, said: "Crime on the Underground is now at its lowest ever level, having decreased by over 14% in the last year alone. When we introduce the night Tube, all stations will remain staffed and controlled at all times when services are running and our hundreds of staff will be backed by an extensive police presence.

"There are around 700 uniformed British Transport Police personnel on the Tube and DLR, part of the over 3,000-strong group of officers who work across the TfL transport network keeping our staff and customers safe."

Close

What's Hot