Night Tubes Announced
21 November 2013, 11:47 | Updated: 21 November 2013, 11:49
'Night Tubes' were the key announcement as Transport for London unveiled their vision for the future of the Tube.
Currently, tubes finish at around 1am, but starting in 2015, five lines - the Piccadilly, Jubilee, Victoria, Northern and Central Lines - will run around the clock.
This means that the Tube will not stop running from Friday morning until Sunday night, although services will not be as regular during the night as in daytime.
Mayor Boris Johnson hailed the move, saying: "Now it is the time to take the Tube to the next level and so for the first time in London's history, we will provide and regular 24-hour 'Night Tube' service at weekends.
"This will not just boost jobs and our vibrant night-time economy, but will further cement London's reputation as the best big city on the planet in which to live, work, visit and invest."
As part of the move, TfL also announced that all ticket offices will close and instead, passengers will be able to purchase tickets from staff in ticket halls and at gates.
All stations will remain staffed and managed at all times, but TfL has confirmed that the changes will involve the loss of 750 jobs.
950 posts are set to go following the changes to ticket hall staffing, but 200 new jobs will created by running the 'Night Tube'.
The RMT warned that strikes may follow the announcement, insisting that the cuts will impact on passenger safety.
RMT chief Bob Crow said: “No matter how this is dressed up by Boris Johnson and his officials, today’s announcement is all about slashing almost £250 million from the annual London transport budget and the proposed cuts will decimate staffing levels and hit the most vulnerable users of tube services the hardest.
"The mayor must believe he is some sort of magician if he thinks he can slash a thousand jobs and still run safe services when everyone knows that staffing has already been cut to the bone while passenger demand continues to rise.
"We will work with sister unions and the public to fight these plans and that means using every campaigning, political and industrial tool at our disposal and our executive will be looking at a timetable and a strategy for that campaign, including a ballot for industrial action, later today."