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Monday, May 23, 2016

All-Night Tube Service Gets Launch Date

London's long-awaited all-night Tube service will launch on two underground lines on 19 August, the new mayor has announced.
A 24 hour service had been due to start last year but no agreement was reached with the unions, which led to it being delayed.
Transport for London (TfL) has now said all-night operations will begin at weekends on the Central and Victoria lines. 
The night service will run on Fridays and Saturdays, from 12.30am to 5.30am, during which period there will be six trains an hour.
That will rise to eight trains per hour on the Northern line to meet demand at busy stations between Leicester Square and Camden Town.
A London Underground sign
The night Tube will be rolled out on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines later in the autumn, when the new Tube drivers have completed their training.
Around 200 part-time drivers are taking part in a 14-week training programme to implement the new service.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: "The Night Tube is absolutely vital to my plans to support and grow London's night time economy - creating more jobs and opportunities for all Londoners. The constant delays under the previous Mayor let Londoners down badly."
Earlier this year unions agreed a pay deal, bringing to an end the strikes which had forced the programme to grind to a halt.
Under the terms of the offer drivers and other London Underground staff affected will receive a £500 bonus, and four years of above-inflation pay rises backdated from last April.
London's Transport Commissioner, Mike Brown, said: "It is good news for London that the first ever all-night Tube service will be ready on August 19. More than half a million people use the Tube after 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays."
Sadiq Khan
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) is still in dispute with London Underground over conditions for engineers working on the new service.
General Secretary Mick Cash, said: "RMT still has major concerns over the safe running of the Night Tube and there are unresolved issues on the detailed safety case that will have to be agreed through the health and safety machinery."
The results of a ballot on industrial action for 1,600 engineering staff are due on Tuesday.

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