Night Tube start date: London commuters welcome launch... but fear for safety on lines

Welcome announcement: Commuters were happy the Night Tube has been given a start date
Laura Proto23 May 2016

London commuters today welcomed the announcement of the start date of the Night Tube - but said Transport for London had to ensure passengers would be safe.

The service will be rolled out on the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines during the autumn.

Commuters were previously left frustrated after the launch of the service was delayed from a planned September start date.

But rows over pay, staffing and working conditions delayed the start date and multiple strikes by Tube staff followed.

But commuters today breathed a sigh of relief after the start date was agreed.

Isabel Murphy, 36, a customer services manager from Forest Gate, said she thought the Night Tube could take on Uber but said she was worried about how safe it would be using the London Underground in the early hours of the morning.

The new night Tube map Picture: TfL
TfL

She said: “The Night Tube will definitely be useful. We’ve got Uber now, which I use, so it’s not so bad but it can be expensive.

“Having tubes running late at night will really make a difference because I live in zone 3.

“But I would worry about what the safety would be like on the platforms and at the stations at that time of night.”

Another commuter, who did not want to be named, echoed Ms Murphy’s views.

She said: “I think it is good that London accessible and people can come and go at all hours.

“But there needs to be proper safety measures in place to make sure Night Tubes are a safe place, especially for women.”

But Hannah Mullane, a 23-year-old estate agent, said having the Tube operating throughout the night would make it safer for people to home.

Shift worker: Frances Michael, 22, said it will be easier for retail and bar workers to get home

She said: “Previously if I’ve come in to London for a night out or a gig, I have had to cut it short or be more careful about how I get back. This is definitely a good thing and I’ll definitely use the Night Tube.”

Another commuter, Zuzana, 32, from Hammersmith, said: “I can’t wait. It will make such a difference and I won’t have to stay at my friends when I can’t get home after a night out.

“I live in Hammersmith so the Piccadilly line running all night will be really useful. I was expecting it to be last year, but hopefully this time it will actually happen.”

TfL estimate that the Night Tube will reduce journey times by an average of 20 minutes and some by more than an hour.

Other commuters also welcomed the announcement of the start date, with Laura Mintram, 25, saying it was a “step forward” for London.

Frances Michael, 22, a team trainer at Topshop, said she was pleased that shift workers would find it easier to get home after the launch.

She said: “The bus system is London is great but the tube is not at the moment.

“It’s definitely been worth the wait. I work at Topshop and a lot of the shifts finish at 11pm so it means now that people can go out afterwards and not worry about getting home.”

Christian Hall, 36, a company director from Surrey, added: “I think it is a very good thing to have the Night Tube finally in place, particularly given the cliental in London.

“Young guys want to want to enjoy themselves and it’s good for the economy.

“For me, it’s a positive and it is worth the wait because the result was the right one.

“It did take too long but the challenge was the drivers and the unions did not explain themselves well so people lost sympathy for them.”

There will be six trains per hour through central London on all Night Tube lines from 0030 and 0530, rising to eight trains per hour on the Northern line to meet demand.

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