A start date has been announced for the launch of the long-awaited Night Tube service.

The London Underground will begin running through the night from Friday, August 19, with the Central and Victoria lines being the first to become 24-hour weekend services.

The Northern, Piccadilly and Jubilee lines are expected to begin running at night later in the autumn.

To see a map of the Night Tube, click here.

The Night Tube was originally due to begin on September 12, 2015, but has been delayed following disputes over pay, staffing and working conditions with the Rail and Maritime Transport (RMT) union and the Associated Society Engineers and Firemen (Aslef).

Wimbledon Times:

Underground workers held a series of strikes last year over the proposals

Part-time night drivers have been hired to try and create a solution, with 200 part-time drivers currently taking part in a 14 week training programme ahead of the launch.

A new pay and conditions deal over the Night Tube Service was agreed by the RMT at the start of March this year.

London’s new Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has hailed the success of the project, saying: “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.

“I have made getting the Night Tube up and running a priority, and London Underground has now confirmed that services on the first two lines will launch on August 19.”

However, when asked specifically how the Mayor had managed to confirm a new start date where his predecessor had failed, the Mayor’s Office struggled to supply an answer.

A spokesperson for the Mayor said: “The Mayor has managed to make this happen.

“He has had discussions with Transport for London (TfL) and he has had discussions with unions, and he has made it happen.

“The new Mayor has managed to make it happen. He’s managed to press for it to happen.

“There’s not much more I can add.”

However, general secretary of the RMT, Mick Cash, still has “major concerns” over the new Night Tube service.

He said: “There are major unresolved issues in relation to the Tube Lines engineering workforce, and it is imperative that the company now moves quickly to address the points at the core of that dispute and reaches a proper negotiated settlement with the union that doesn’t leave that essential group of workers disadvantaged on conditions and pensions.

“RMT also 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.

“Against a background of massive cuts overshadowing TfL budgets, all parties have to be clear that Night Tube, a development that RMT supports, cannot be delivered on the cheap.”

Future plans for the Night Tube include expanding the service to cover the Metropolitan, Circle, District and Hammersmith and City Lines.

TfL has also said that the Night Tube could operate on parts of the London Overground in 2017, and the Docklands Light Railway by 2021.

The Night Tube – What do you need to know?

  • The Night Tube is a 24-hour London Underground service operating on Friday and Saturday nights.
  • It will cost standard off-peak prices to use the Night Tube, with daily capping still applying.
  • Day Travelcards will be valid from the day of issue until 4.29am the following day.
  • There will be six trains per hour through central London on all Night Tube lines between 12.30am and 5.30am, and eight trains per hour on the Northern line.
  • Jubilee and Victoria line trains will run every 10 minutes across the entire lines
  • Central line trains will run every 10 minutes between White City and Leytonstone, and every 20 minutes from Ealing Broadway to White City and Leytonstone to Loughton/Hainult. No Central line trains will run between North Acton and West Ruislip, Loughton, Epping, Woodford or Hainault.
  • Northern line trains will run every eight minutes between Morden and Camden Town, and every 15 minutes from Camden Town to High Barnet/Edgware. There will be no service on the Mill Hill East or Bank branches.
  • Piccadilly line trains will run every 10 minutes between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5. There will be no service to Terminal 4, or between Acton Town and Uxbridge.

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