City AM

Another Station Is Joining The Night Tube This Weekend

Charing Cross station is catching up with the rest of the Northern line and opening for night tube services this week.

On Friday, the station will now be open for the entire night for the first time since the new service began on the Northern line on 18 November 2016. Until now, passengers had to use the nearby Embankment station instead.

Five lines now run night tube services, the Jubilee, Victoria, Central and Piccadilly lines, and it has proved a hit with Londoners.

London Underground's managing director Mark Wild said in November that passenger numbers were 50% higher than forecast.

And with Charing Cross open as a major station, it should provide another boost to the capital's economy. According to data from Worldpay at the end of last year, the capital's nightlife was reaping the rewards of the 24-hour transport system.

Since the introduction of the first night tube services on the Central and Victoria lines in August, businesses serviced by those lines experienced an 18% boost.

Worldpay analysed late night (between 1am and 4.30am) card transaction data and noted that takings in the City of London area rose 75% compared to before the launch. Over 100,000 people used the night tube during its opening weekend.

Nearly a third of late-night spending in the capital was focused within the borough of Westminster — where the Victoria and Central lines intersect — but businesses based further out also benefited.

This article originally appeared on City AM.