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'The Tube' (TV program)

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Peter Mugridge

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Difficult.... you'd be surprised just how much infrastructure there is underneath London. Putting anything new in is a bit like threading a million needles in a coal cellar at midnight as it is!

Even underneath many of the tube tunnels the place has a tendency to resemble a large plate of spaghetti bolognese...
 
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142094

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At the minute you have the case where down time is only really a few hours - by the time last train has left and is in the depot then you don't have that long to wait before the first is due out. Plus, on the programme you saw that at some stations staff are there 24/7. So in reality you'd probably need only extra drivers and station staff, and perhaps the odd additional signaller etc.

Even if only some of the core central lines were kept open 24/7, that would be a start. Network Rail keep telling us they want to move towards a 24/7, 365 railway so no reason why LU could not explore the possibility.
 

jon0844

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You start late though then you are killing the people who reply on it to get to work in the mornings.

Any more bright ideas?

I was suggesting that when the bulk of the huge upgrade work is done, it MIGHT be possible to go without so much routine maintenance, or none at all, during the night on a Saturday and Sunday morning only - not all week. I did say might, but it certainly could be something to try and aspire to achieve.

I agree that there's not a huge incentive though, given the pretty decent night bus service we have.
 

jopsuk

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Difficult.... you'd be surprised just how much infrastructure there is underneath London. Putting anything new in is a bit like threading a million needles in a coal cellar at midnight as it is!

Even underneath many of the tube tunnels the place has a tendency to resemble a large plate of spaghetti bolognese...

Quite- it might have been possible when the network was built, but it isn't now. As lovely as it would be to fill in all the tunnels and pipe work and start all over again, it isn't going to happen
 

Daniel

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So in reality you'd probably need only extra drivers and station staff, and perhaps the odd additional signaller etc.


You'd need quite a few more station staff, as there are only Supervisors throughout the night - (don't forget you'd have to have CSA's at Section 12 stations). There are a couple of night drivers on each line, but no-where enough to run a service.
However service control staff, (signallers, controllers, service managers) are there throughout the night - however places which are usually double manned are lone worked overnight. The only service control staff with no night cover is IIRC the Line Information Specialist, although there are a few lines with night cover for the role too (Jubilee, Met).
 

tunster

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Thought I'd chip in as I loved the series very much being a commuter and love trains as much.

The idea of a 24/7 service? I guess this would only be possible on quite a few conditions which are way-off:

a. All tracks/trains are refreshed with 21st century stock.
b. All lines are automatically operated.
c. Unions are quashed.
d. The money is there to support extra staff and resources to run a skeleton service.

The only reason why it isn't top agenda is the fantastic cab/bus services that can carry people around during the late hours. However, a skeleton service into the later hours (especially between Thurs - Sat). Even if it's 6 trains an hour and the cost rates are reduced after midnight (to encourage people to use the service), there's a good justification for it sometime in the distant future.

Shame Cross-Rail is being built with expansion in service, although I could imagine the fight to find tunnel space in central London was tricky enough for single track tunnels.
 

jon0844

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I think you meant 'Unions are squashed' :)

London does have a fantastic network of buses and taxis, the latter which obviously take you to your front door. Even with later tubes, there's a good chance that not everybody will be wanting to walk home at 3am in some areas - so the cabs probably serve as a better option anyway.

I'd simply be recommending later services on a Friday/Saturday night - perhaps with less maintenance (or no maintenance) booked for those two nights/mornings. That would be a reasonable aspiration, as well as running later services during holidays (rather than finishing earlier). I can't see 24/7 running being necessary.
 

SS4

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The only way I could see 24/7 being useful is if it was a case of "build it and they will come". Namely running a 24 hour service will draw people to use it for whatever reason
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
How safe are night buses? From what I've heard the drivers would deserve danger money :lol:
 

jon0844

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The driver is quite well protected and I think they're told to just let everyone on, whether they pay or not.
 

WestCoast

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I went on the New York Subway at 2.30am and it was far busier than at 12pm!

Obviously, London isn't quite as round-the-clock, but there's nothing to say that it won't become more like that in future.
 

NY Yankee

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Late night ridership on the NYC subway varies. A subway line that travels through an area with clubs like Times Square or the East Village will carry more people than a line that travels through a secluded area in the northern Bronx or the Rockaways in Queens.
 
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