London’s night economy was given a boost on Friday with the announcement that Night Tube services on the Jubilee line will return next month.
Transport for London said the through-the-night weekend services would restart on Saturday May 21, bringing to three the number of Night Tube lines to be restored. All five Night Tube lines were suspended at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Dates for the restart of the Night Tube on the Northern and Piccadilly lines will be announced “later this summer”.
The resumption of the Jubilee line Night Tube will boost cultural destinations such as the South Bank and Bermondsey and offer another route to and from the West End.
The line also links with the Night Overground at Canada Water, increasing travel options to and from hotspots such as Shoreditch and Hoxton.
However there is a risk that the launch could be blighted by staff shortages if the RMT union decides to expand the action it has been taking on the Victoria and Central lines since January to the Jubilee line.
The action, the longest in the history of the Tube, is due to continue until June 17 in protest at the scrapping of Night Tube pay rates and rosters. The RMT would have to give two weeks’ notice if it wanted its Jubilee line members to join the walkout.
A RMT spokesman said: “We have a mandate to extend our current action to defend the work life balance of our members and our executive will consider the next move.”
Night Tube services restarted on the Central and Victoria lines last November but the lines have been operating at reduced frequencies due to the shortage of drivers, though TfL claims the Victoria line is now back to “normal”.
Passengers have returned to the Tube at greater rates at the weekend than during the week. Last Saturday, Tube ridership was at 80 per cent of normal, rising to 87 per cent on Sunday – the highest figure for more than two years.
Mayor Sadiq Khan has faced criticism for the delay in restoring services to all five Night Tube lines. More than 167,500 people signed a petition raising concerns about the safety of women getting home at night.
TfL said 1.6m people regularly worked at night before the pandemic - a third of the city’s workforce.
Nick Dent, London Underground’s director of customer operations, said: “The return of Night Tube on the Jubilee line, along with the Piccadilly and Northern lines later in the summer, will be a boost to the night-time economy and help our customers travel around London overnight at weekends.
“London is a global destination and we are proud to be doing our part to help people to safely and enjoyably benefit from the best of its world-leading night-time economy.”
Northern line services have been delayed due to the part-closure of the line to complete the transformation of Bank station.
