Susan Hall pledges to expand Night Tube service

The Night Tube currently runs on five lines on Fridays and Saturdays

Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall has pledged to expand London's weekend Night Tube service to the Hammersmith and City line if she is elected.

The Night Tube currently runs on the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines on Fridays and Saturdays.

Ms Hall made the commitment as part of plans to "revive" the capital's night-time economy.

A spokesperson for Labour's Sadiq Khan said he could be trusted to secure the funding needed to expand the service, while the Liberal Democrat candidate said he would focus on maintenance issues.

Ms Hall said she also had the "ambition" to go further and expand the service to the the Circle, District and Metropolitan lines "when feasible".

The Labour campaign told BBC News they would also seek to expand to these lines.

“The Night Tube is a fantastic way for Londoners to enjoy our city and its incredible nightlife," Ms Hall said.

She added that "too many venues have closed under Sadiq Khan".

The Conservative hopeful said the Hammersmith and City line would be the first to get the expanded service as it played an "essential role in connecting people to some of London’s biggest cultural venues".

Ms Hall says expanding the Night Tube will "revive nightlife"

The Night Tube service was first launched in 2016 shortly after Mr Khan first took office but the plans had been set in motion under his predecessor, Boris Johnson.

The service was suspended during the pandemic but has since been restored to all five of the current lines.

According to City Hall figures released last November, the Night Tube and Night Overground services see about 60,000 journeys take place on a Friday night between 00:30 and 04:30, and close to 70,000 journeys on a Saturday night between 00:30 and 04:30.

Sadiq Khan launched the Night Tube early in his first term as mayor in 2016

Mr Khan's spokesperson said: "You can trust Sadiq to deliver - he got the Night Tube open when Boris Johnson couldn’t, as well as delivering the Elizabeth line and Northern line extension.

"By contrast the Tory candidate voted to block Sadiq’s TfL fares freeze and cheered on the Tory government imposing punitive funding deals on Transport for London."

'Incredibly frustrating'

Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Rob Blackie said that while he would "love to see the Night Tube extended" he would instead prioritise fixing maintenance issues along the Underground lines.

"Trains are now breaking down twice as often as just six years ago - and this is incredibly frustrating and difficult for commuters," he said.

"We need to make sure trains and track are maintained properly - and sometimes that needs to be at night when the Tube is closed."

BBC News contacted the Green Party mayoral candidate for comment.

Meanwhile, in another transport pledge, Mr Khan has said if he is re-elected he will establish a new company to bring the capital's bus services into public ownership in partnership with "a future Labour government".

His spokesperson said routes currently operated by the 16 privately-run bus companies will be reviewed at the end of their contracts "to decide whether to bring them under the new public operator".