London plans to outstrip New York with 24-hour rail plan

More 24-hour rail services in London have been announced as part of a package of measures to help the British capital outstrip New York in the coming years.

Commuters on London Underground to have 24-hour service. Image by Yui Mok/PA Wire

The plans, which include drawing up a “Domesday Book” of publicly-owned land to be earmarked for new housing, will create half a million jobs by 2020 and add £6.4 billion to the capital’s economy by 2030, according to Government estimates.

Chancellor George Osborne and mayor Boris Johnson said 24-hour services will be expanded on the Tube and extended to London Overground and the Docklands Light Railway.

After an early-morning visit to London Underground to view maintenance work being carried out, they outlined a six-point plan including 24-hour London Overground services in 2017, all-night services on the Docklands Light Railway by 2021, and an expansion of 24-hour Tube services, as well as extended wi-fi on the Tube.

Rail unions described the announcement as a “blatant pre-election stunt” and queried how the £6.4 billion had been worked out.

Night-time Tube services will be expanded to the Metropolitan, Circle, District, and Hammersmith and City lines once Transport for London’s modernisation programmes are completed.

Currently 24-hour services will begin on the Northern, Victoria, Piccadilly, Jubilee and Central lines from September.

The Government said it will provide £10 billion of funding for investment in new TfL infrastructure over the next parliament, including new Tube improvements, better roads, more buses and cycle lanes, amid predictions that London’s population will top 10 million by the early 2030s.

The mayor of London also confirmed plans for 200 more Routemaster buses this year and committed to 800 new buses a year from next year onwards, securing jobs in Ballymena and Falkirk, where 90% of TfL’s buses are manufactured.

Mr Johnson said: “As London’s population continues to grow, it is investments in infrastructure such as this which will ensure that the capital remains competitive and the best big city to live in.

“Today we have committed to additional night Tube services, the first 24-hour London Overground and the purchase of hundreds of brand new buses. This, combined with the promise of future investment in projects such as Crossrail 2 and the Bakerloo Line extension, will ensure we keep the capital’s economy moving well into the 21st century.”

Launching the plan at the Tate Modern art gallery, Mr Osborne said: “This is our long-term economic plan for London. To grow our city and outpace New York.

“To create over half a million new jobs, build over 400,000 new homes, provide £10 billion on new transport, back business and science and culture here, give a voice to people here and make London the greatest capital city on earth for the next generation of Londoners.”

As part of a plan to deliver new homes for London’s growing population, which has reached 8.6 million, the highest point since 1939, and is forecast to reach 11 million by 2050, a London Land Commission will identify public sector sites for development.

(Press Association)