Night Tube Launches on Piccadilly Line

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New service comes despite weeks of delays due to damaged train wheels

Night Tube services have launched on the Piccadilly line despite weeks of delays and disruptions.

The RMT union had called for the launch to be delayed due to "on-going safety concerns" connected to wet leaves damaging train wheels.

However, Transport for London insisted there were no safety concerns and the launch went ahead as planned.

Mick Cash, RMT General Secretary, said: "The fleet consists of 43-year-old trains that have recently had their wheels replaced, leading to serious problems.

"It is utter madness that while the service on the Piccadilly Line is at breaking point the company plan to run trains right through from Sunday."

A spokesperson for TfL responded: "There aren't any safety issues. If there were we wouldn't be launching".

TfL added that despite having only 80% of operational trains running during its daytime Piccadilly service, it does have the necessary 25 trains needed to run the reduced night schedule.

The Piccadilly night service follows the launch of 24 hour services on the Central, Victoria, Jubilee and Northern lines.

For residents of Hammersmith and Fulham it is the most local service, as it stops at Earls Court, Barons Court and Hammersmith.

The weekend night tube service on the Piccadilly line will be running on average every ten minutes.

The trains will run between between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5 on Friday and Saturday nights but there will be no service on the Terminal 4 loop, or between Acton Town and Uxbridge.

They will charge standard off-peak fares for travelling on the Night Tube. Day Travelcards will be valid on the day of issue (using the date printed on the card), and for journeys starting before 4:30am the following day. For example, if you buy a Day Travelcard at 11:00am on Friday, you can use it until 4:29am on the following Saturday. Daily capping on Oyster cards and contactless payment cards also applies.

Although there will be no ticket office at Turnham Green, London Underground say that the station will be staffed all 24 hours it is open at the weekend and that staff will be 'visible' to passengers.

Once the Night Tube is operational, London Underground say they will continue to work with residents to investigate any issues regarding noise. They have also promised to ensure that any station announcements do not cause excessive noise levels.

Sadiq Khan, said: “We’ve seen how enthusiastically Londoners have embraced the Night Tube, and I am delighted that we’ve exceeded expectations with more than one million journeys made already.

“The addition of the Piccadilly line will help even more thousands of Londoners every weekend, from those taking in the capital’s cultural landmarks to the many workers who keep London open around the clock.”

Upgrade and maintenance work will continue to be done but will now take place overnight between Sunday and Thursday on the Night Tube lines.

TfL say that there is an extensive network of night buses and some routes have been extended to serve Night Tube stations to help meet the increased demand. You can downloand Night Bus maps here.

TfL claim the Night Tube will cut night-time journeys by an average of 20 minutes, with some cut by more than an hour. It will also play a vital role in opening up London's night-time economy, supporting almost 2,000 permanent jobs and boosting the economy by £360m.

Late night Tube use has increased at double the rate of day-time trips and Night bus usage has risen by 173% since 2000. There are already over half a million users of the Tube after 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

December 21, 2016