15.08.16
Mayor promises extra £3.4m to increase Night Tube police presence
Around 100 extra police officers will be patrolling stations and trains when Night Tube services start on the Central and Victoria lines this weekend.
TfL has confirmed that London’s mayor has made a further £3.4m available to invest in the policing of the long-awaited Night Tube service, with at least as many officers out during the night as would be seen during the day.
Over the last weekend, the 24-hour Tube service was trialled to ensure it doesn’t disrupt normal passenger services. The first two Tube lines, Victoria and Central, start operating Night Tube services at 51 stations on Friday and Saturday nights from this weekend.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The opening of the Night Tube marks the start of an exciting new chapter in London's life. It will unlock the full potential of London's night time economy and support the thousands of Londoners who travel to or from work at night.
“Passengers on the Night Tube must be able to travel with the same confidence they are used to during the day. That's why we're investing £3.4m to ensure that dedicated officers are on hand to offer the support and visible reassurance Londoners expect.”
Officers will be supported by British Transport Police (BTP) rapid-response vehicles spread across London and by more than 12,000 CCTV cameras across the network. And a state-of-the-art BTP Control Centre is co-located with London Underground's Control Centre, both of which operate 24-hours a day, meaning that any incident can be spotted and responded to quickly.
After going live this weekend, Night Tube will begin operating on the Piccadilly, Jubilee and Northern lines in two phases over the autumn, once new drivers are trained. When the new launch date was announced back in May, around 200 part-time drivers were taking part in a 14-week training programme.
Originally announced in 2014 and scheduled to go live in September 2015, the 24-hour service suffered a string of setbacks as all unions were stuck in talks with London Underground management over pay issues.
BTP Chief Superintendent Martin Fry said: “We have recruited extra police officers in order to ensure there is a visible uniformed presence across the network on Friday and Saturday nights.
“Station staff and passengers will see a presence at key stations, and mobile teams who will travel the lengths of the Central and Victoria lines throughout the night and the Northern, Piccadilly and Jubilee lines, once thy are open.
“A network of BTP rapid-response vehicles across London will also be in place to ensure police will be ready to attend any incident quickly.”