Passengers in east London will from now on be able to travel on the “night overground”. The 24-hour services will operate on Friday and Saturday nights on the London Overground.

The service currently ends at around 12.30am from Monday to Saturday. Trains will run approximately every 15 minutes between Dalston Junction, east London, and New Cross Gate, south-east London, throughout the night.

However, it will not call at Whitechapel station due to Crossrail works, which will finish in summer 2018. The service will extend further northwards to Highbury & Islington next year.

Londoners working through the night, as well as late-night revellers, looked forward to the start of the service. Some people on social media declared that they intended to ride the line all night.

Currently it can take well over an hour to make the journey on a bus from south-east London to east London after the departure of the last train.



The maiden voyage of the service comes just after London Overground celebrated a decade since it first began connecting people on its orbital route around inner London. It currently serves 23 of the capital’s boroughs, as well as southern Hertfordshire, since it took over from Silverlink Metro services in 2007.

The launch follows the introduction of the night tube on the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. More than 9m journeys have been made since it began last year, contributing more than £170m to London’s economy, according to the city mayor’s office.

Work is currently under way to improve the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. Once modernisation is complete in 2023, the night tube can potentially be introduced on those lines.

The mayor, Sadiq Khan, hailed the start of the night overground in east London.

“Londoners and visitors alike will be able to use the service to help them enjoy everything that this buzzing part of the city has to offer as well as providing a significant boost to the night-time economy,” he said.

Amy Lamé, appointed as London’s night tsar, who champions the night-time economy, welcomed Khan’s announcement. “From Dalston to New Cross, the ‘ginger’ line is world-renowned for its incredible nightlife and diverse culture,” she said. “Ensuring London thrives as a 24-hour city is a top priority for the mayor, so I’m delighted the night overground is joining the night tube in providing a safe and efficient service to thousands of passengers, whether they’re partying all night, or working to keep the city ticking around the clock.”