Tube not running past midnight

I recently found myself lost this weekend because i was trying to home after the tube had stopped running.

I was caught in the freezing cold, and what seemed to be a million miles from a night bus stop or a mini cab.

Surley there would be enough demand to run a limited service past midnight. even one every 30 mins or so and only stopping at major stations would be fantastic to get from one side if town to the other safely late at night.

With all the money that the local government pours into keeping the street safe i.e. illegal mini cabs, extra police, and so on. wouldnt this be a better solution actually keeping people off the streets?? by providing a better late night public trasport service. what do we all think??

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Hi mickey,

I think the reason the tubes can't run all night is that maintenance work has to be carried out whilst the service is completely stopped.

When they were having the debate about an extending the service for an extra hour on friday and saturday nights I remember them saying that the service would have to start an hour or so later the next morning so that the maintenance work can get done.

I always try and work out the route home before going out on the beers, it saves a lot of hassle later on

cheers

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hi,

yes i can see your point but, other major cities around the world seem to be able to manage this, London being as great a city as it is, i think that if it was well managed then it is doable.

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Hi,
I think someone once told me that the reason London's underground cannot provide the later service that other cities do is because owing to it's age, it only has one track per line and maintenance needs to be carried out without it actually running- whereas with newer systems (IE: New York) they have multiple tracks available with which to carry out maintenance whilst still providing the public service.

But I agree- it's bloody annoying!

Steff.

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well that makes sense but i really dont think that maintainance would need to be carried out on every line every night, if that is in fact the case then the quality of work being done seriously needs to be looked at.(which i think is the case anyway considering the amout of delays there are on the lines, point failures ect.)

i can see that point but again like i said if it was well managed then i could be done, especially after they have now introduced the late night liquor laws. and its not like its a cheap service to use during regular hours either.

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I totally agree, we have friends who live on the other side of the city and sometimes we feel like Cinderella, having to leave abruptly before the last train...

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The last tube can also be a great way to get out of a rubbish dinner party

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Mickey,

The problems not demand but supply.

The tube network is already at breaking point following years of under investment and political games by all sides.

To have the tube running all the way through the night would require a second tube network to be laid down in order to allow between 6 to 8 hours of essential maintenance checks to be performed every 24 hours.

The best solution would be more night buses and the introduction of trams.

Also, best to check the "last tube" time home if travelling outside of Zone 1 to avoid being trapped.

Phil

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