What is the night tube? When does the night tube start? Learn everything you need to know about it before the London Underground begins running through the night.
What is the night tube?
The night tube is the name for the London Underground services running throughout the night on Friday and Saturday nights. Previously services stopped at around midnight, depending on line and day of the week, and started again around 5am.
The introduction of the night tube means that there will be a continuous service — albeit of varying frequencies — from early on Friday morning, until late on Sunday night.
When does the night tube start?
The night tube launches on the Central and Victoria lines on Friday 19 August 2016. It will run on Friday night and Saturday night only. It will launch on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines in autumn 2016.
Where will the night tube run?
To start with, the night tube will run only on the Central and Victoria lines.
Central line night tube services
- Ealing Broadway to Loughton services will run.
- White City to Hainault services will run
- No service Loughton to Epping or between Woodford and Hainault, or on the West Ruislip branch.
Victoria line night tube services
- Services will run on the whole line (Brixton to Walthamstow).
Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly line services are due to start in autumn 2016:
Jubilee line night tube services
- Services will run on the whole line (Stanmore to Stratford)
Northern line night tube services
- Morden to Edgware services will run.
- Morden to High Barnet services will run
- No service on the Bank Branch, or to Mill Hill East.
Piccadilly line night tube services
- Cockfosters to Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3, 5 services will run.
- No service to Heathrow Terminal 4
- No service Acton Town to Rayners Lane.
How often will trains run on the night tube?
The night tube will only run on Friday and Saturday nights. How often it will run depends which line you're using. The above map shows the frequencies at which services will run — for more information, click here.
Night tube frequency on the Central line
- Trains run every 20 minutes between Ealing Broadway and Loughton.
- Trains run every 20 minutes between White City and Hainault.
- This means that trains will run every 10 minutes on the central section between White City and Leytonsone.
Night tube frequency on the Victoria line
- Trains run every 10 minutes on the Victoria line.
Night tube frequency on the Jubilee line
- From autumn 2016, trains runs every 10 minutes on the Jubilee line.
Night tube frequency on the Northern line
- From autumn 2016, trains run every 15 minutes between Morden and Edgware.
- From autumn 2016, trains run every 15 minutes between Morden and High Barnet.
- This means that trains run every 7.5 minutes on the section between Camden and Morden.
Night tube frequency on the Piccadilly line
- From autumn 2016, trains run every 10 minutes on the Piccadilly line.
How much does the night tube cost?
You will be charged a standard off-peak fare for using the night tube.
It's worth noting that the daily capping and Travelcard cut off time is 4.30am.
Day Travelcards are valid for journeys which start up until 4.30am on the day that they are purchased — so if you bought a Day Travelcard on the Friday, it can be used on any journey that's started before 4.30am on the Saturday.
Any journeys taken after 4.30am on Oyster/Contactless will be counted as a new day for capping purposes.
Will there be staff on the night tube?
TfL has said that all stations used by the night tube will be staffed throughout the time that services are running.
Why has the night tube taken so long to start?
It's been a long time coming since it was first announced — originally it was due to start in September 2015. Disputes between TfL and staff unions over working hours and pay have led to several delays and even strikes.
Anyway, it's here now.
What will happen to the London Underground mice when the night tube starts?
London's subterranean rodents may be getting sleep-deprived and grumpy. Here's what we think will happen to them when the night tube starts.
