Night Tube: Piccadilly line start date announced

Line will be fifth major service to go 24-hour this year

Passengers will be able to go home from those last Christmas parties on the Piccadilly line (Getty)

The Piccadilly line is the latest major underground service to announce it will run a 24-hour service.

The line will join the Central, Victoria and Jubilee lines in running an all night service from 16th December – just in time for Christmas.

The Northern line meanwhile is scheduled to start on 18th November.

The 24-hour weekend Piccadilly line will run between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: "I pledged to introduce five Night Tube services before the end of the year, and it gives me great pleasure to announce the start date of the fifth of these, the Piccadilly line services.

"We’ve seen how enthusiastically Londoners have embraced the Night Tube, and I am delighted that we’ve exceeded expectations with more than one million journeys made already.

"The addition of the Piccadilly line will help even more thousands of Londoners every weekend, from those taking in the capital’s cultural landmarks to the many workers who keep London open around the clock."

The move will make it easier for anyone planning on attending last minute Christmas parties – particularly those celebrating Mad Friday, the last Friday before Christmas which is one of the biggest nights of the year for pubs and restaurants, which falls on 23rd December this year.

David Taylor, the owner of Balans Soho Society, said: "Balans Soho Society has been open 24-hours-a-day on Old Compton Street for nearly 30 years.

"The introduction of the Night Tube finally seems to recognise what we've always really known – that London is an amazing, vibrant city that doesn't just grind to a halt at half past midnight."

Julian Bird, Chief Executive of the Society of London Theatre, said: "The Piccadilly line runs through the heart of Theatreland and once it begins running for 24 hours at the weekend, will give our audiences the flexibility to explore the West End’s vibrant nightlife, making that trip to the theatre even more special.

"Moreover, the Night Tube has already proven to be a tremendous asset to the industry; helping our staff and performers get home in the quickest possible way, so it is fantastic that this initiative is being rolled out further."

The Night Tube was first introduced in August after a battle between tube workers' unions and former Mayor Boris Johnson.

Following several days of all out strikes by members of the RMT and Aslef unions, Tfl agreed to increase their pay in exchange for working more night shifts.

The service is expected to bring in an extra £77m a year in revenue for the capital and support an extra 2,000 permanent jobs.