TfL (Transport for London) have published the results of their consultation as to whether the London underground should run an hour later on Friday and Saturday nights. At the moment The Tube ends around 12:30am, to allow for overnight track maintenance — which apparently has to happen every night.
The proposal is to run the trains until 1:30am Fri and Sat (well, Sat and Sun mornings to be precise), but not start them until an hour later than they do currently, with trains not arriving into Central London until 7:00 – 8:30. This is to keep the same size maintenance window throughout.
Anyway, the results of the consultation are in and 73% of the 54,419 respondents supported the proposal. Twenty two per cent opposed the proposal, with 15 per cent of respondents strongly opposing.
The main reason for opposal was early-morning works but I guess those who like to do an “all-nighter” (ie stay out until the tubes start in the morning) will have to wait an extra hour. Perhaps an extra hour slouched in a shop door somewhere, who knows…
I’m definitely in favour of the tube running later, although I would much prefer the tubes to run 24hrs between Friday morning and Sunday night, with the option of closing specific lines overnight if there is a pressing need for emergency maintenance.
The reason for the question mark in my title for this post is because none of this has been formally agreed — and although the clear majority want it, the fact it may inconvenience key workers who start work early in the morning could scupper the plans.
What do others think?