VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Some people in Metro Vancouver are looking at London’s new 24-hours, weekend subway service with envy, but don’t expect to see something similar happen here.

TransLink tells NEWS 1130 trains can’t run all night because it needs a minimum of two and a half hours to do maintenance work.

The transit authority says London Transport routinely shuts down complete lines on the weekend for maintenance.

In London there are 12 lines that can help passengers get around a closure but in Metro Vancouver the SkyTrain runs on just three, so TransLink “does not have that luxury.”

TransLink says people wanting to travel overnight can use other overnight routes.

“For customers traveling late at night, we provide NightBus as an option.

-Customers travelling the Expo Line corridor between Downtown Vancouver and Surrey have been able to benefit from 24-hour transit service, seven days a week.

-NightBus, which helps people get home by transit after SkyTrain service ends for nightly maintenance, now operates every 30 minutes (or better) seven days a week on routes leaving downtown Vancouver. We run 12 NightBus routes, covering more ground than our three SkyTrain lines.

-Among the NightBus routes is the N19 Surrey Central/Downtown, which roughly follows the path of the Expo Line with stops at Metrotown, New Westminster, Scott Road and Surrey Central stations. Adjustments to the N19 now allow us to provide our customers with 24-hour-a-day service as it operates as the overnight complement to the Expo Line.

– http://www.translink.ca/en/Schedules-and-Maps/Bus/NightBus.aspx “