Trains on key parts of London's underground network will run throughout the night on weekends starting in August, nearly a year after services were originally set to begin, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Monday.
Central and Victoria lines will begin the first 24-hour service on August 19th with the Piccadilly, Jubilee and Northern lines following in the autumn, generating a further £360 million (€465 million) for London’s economy, Khan’s office said in a statement.
Former Mayor Boris Johnson aimed to begin night trains in September last year but his plans were opposed by unions whose strikes paralysed the underground system, known as the Tube.
“I have made getting the Night Tube up and running a priority,” Khan said in the statement.
“The constant delays under the previous mayor let Londoners down badly.”
Johnson had objected to demands for increased pay and additional days-off until a deal was reached with unions on March 1st, prior to the mayoral election won by Khan.
"There are major unresolved issues in relation to the Tube lines engineering workforce," Rail, Maritime and Transport union secretary general Mick Cash said in a statement.
“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.”