'Night Tube' weekend service to launch in September 2015 - BBC News

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

The Tube is to run a 24-hour service at weekends from 12 September 2015, it has been announced.

Passengers will be able to take the so-called "Night Tube" on Fridays and Saturdays.

Transport for London (TfL^» (Transport for London - about)) said the service would cut journey times by an average of 20 minutes.

The RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) union said the plans had "not been properly thought through and are a disaster waiting to happen".

There will be six trains per hour through central London on the Jubilee, Victoria and most of the Piccadilly, Central and Northern lines, TfL said.

On the Northern Line, there will be eight trains per hour to meet demand at busy stations between Leicester Square and Camden Town, it added.

The service will be launched in time for England staging the Rugby World Cup, which will be hosted in 13 venues around the country, including three in London - Twickenham Stadium, Olympic Stadium and Wembley Stadium.

'Bulldozed through'

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "London is a bustling, 24-hour global city and by this time next year we'll have a 24-hour Tube service to match.

"As well as creating vital new jobs and giving a huge boost to our economy, the Night Tube will help millions of people to get around our city more easily and quickly."

Mike Brown, managing director of London Underground, said: "The new service will boost jobs and will benefit the economy by hundreds of millions of pounds."

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "This proposal is now being bulldozed through without any proper risk assessment or agreement on core issues.

"To make this plan work we need more tube staff not less if we are not going to be risking disaster at three o'clock in the morning when the West End is flooded with thousands of people fresh out of the pubs and clubs.

"As it stands at the moment the night tube plans are not properly thought through and are a disaster waiting to happen."

Seems that Bob Crow has willed his dictionary of hyperbole to Mick Cash. 

[TaplowGreen]

Long overdue but will no doubt be an opportunity for the comrades to negotiate/threaten for more money as per every Boxing Day and other occasion (Olympics) when simply threatening not to fulfil their contractual obligations generally results in a wad of "Cash" being handed over.

As it's a year before it even starts, there is oodles of time for risk assessments/agreements........suspect this is just an opening gambit from the new Commissar.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Seems that Bob Crow has willed his dictionary of hyperbole to Mick Cash. 

Mick Cash was Bob Crow's deputy at the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) for 12 years - so it's perhaps not so surprising. 

Interesting times ahead! 

[Surrey 455]

When I read in the papers about the tube being opened at night for the Rugby World Cup my first thought was Err, there are no tube stations near Twickenham, are there? but I now see that there are also games at Wembley and Stratford that are connected. So, how many games are likely to finish in the early hours

[didcotdean]

A number of games are not scheduled to start until 20:00. This is no later at Wembley than many football matches though.

[ChrisB]

And they're shorter - 40mins each half with a very quick interval between. So they'll be finished before 10....

[Chris from Nailsea]

British Transport Police are recruiting specifically for this service:

Student Officer - London 2015
Location  B Division
Rank  PC
Part/Full Time  Full Time
Type Of Contract  Permanent
Salary  Up to ^28,860 + Benefits
Job Description 1 
Joining British Transport Police as a Police Officer, you^ll take on a crucial frontline role in one of the most challenging and demanding environments. Our people respond to and support a multitude of activities across a national remit and it is our priority to make our customers, stakeholders and communities feel safe and secure on the commuter networks.
We are seeking talented, motivated and enthusiastic applicants who are capable of working in challenging policing scenarios to support Night Tube which starts in Central London from September 2015.
The British Transport Police will play a vital role in supporting Night Tube and London's vibrant night-time economy. We will also help uphold London's status as a vibrant, exciting yet safe place to live, work and visit by maintaining visibility of our Police Officers when trains and tubes are running.
As such, we will need to ensure that we have exceptional Police Officers ready to support these demands. This will be an exciting opportunity as a Police Officer to engage in a varied and diverse policing role across Central London. These will be unique policing scenarios with demands like no other, and our people have to be trained to the highest standards in order to meet these requirements. But, by working for BTP^▸ (British Transport Police), you^ll be joining some of the best people in their field and will work with like-minded, talented people who share your passion for a job very well done.
Applicants can expect this to be a difficult and demanding job, both physically and mentally, and the hours can be highly unsocial. However, there are few careers that are as interesting, exciting and fulfilling as working as an officer for BTP.
Sound interesting? Join us on the journey and bring your creativity, commitment and commerciality on board and help us make a difference.
We particularly welcome individuals seeking part time or flexible opportunities to support us on the night tube requirements.
Student Officer Workshop
Here at the British Transport Police we understand its only natural to want to prepare for the application stage and assessment centre and to support you through this process, we would like to invite you to a workshop on 7th March 2015.
Full details regarding the workshop can be found here

[JayMac]

Reminds of the time a group of schoolfriends and I decided to write to ***'ll Fix It.

One friend wanted to be a 'train policeman' for the day. He'd seen them in action at Bristol TM^‡(resolve) when he went to a City v Rovers match by train.

I'd quite like to be a 'train policeman', but there's no more ***'ll Fix It and I'm a tad too old.

What did I ask ***? I asked if he could fix it for me to meet the A-Team!