london finally becomes a 24 hour city. well, almost.

It has always been perplexing to us 24 hour New Yorkers with a 24 hour subway system that the dynamic City of London does not provide 24 hour tube service. This stifles the economy and makes for a large measure of transportation difficulty for night owls.

Well, finally, London is soon about to enter the short list of truly 24 hour cities – that is, with an asterix. On September 12th the London Underground will officially begin 24 hour service on certain lines but only on Fridays and Saturdays [hence the asterix] At least its a start.

According to the Evening Standard:

“The Night Tube will run on Friday nights and during the early hours of Saturday and Sunday mornings on the following lines:

• Central line: trains will run between Ealing Broadway and Hainault;

• Jubilee line: trains will run on the entire line;

• Northern line: trains will run on the entire line except on the Mill Hill East and Bank branches;

• Piccadilly line: trains will run between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5;

• Victoria line: trains will run on the entire line.”

Further plans include expanding the night time service to parts of the Metropolitan, Circle, District, and Hammersmith & City lines. Additionally, services could also operate on parts of the London Overground in 2017.

Its not New York, but it’s a good start. Until September 12 [and for Monday through Friday after September 12 as well], service details on the 24 hour Tube service can be found below.