London Night Tube: Passengers 'will be safe', say police

Night services will eventually run on five Tube lines

Passengers will be as safe on London's Night Tube as they are on the daytime service, police have said.

The all-night service begins on the Victoria and Central lines on Friday. It will spread to the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines this autumn.

Supt Chris Horton, of British Transport Police (BTP), said about 100 officers would be on patrol.

He added: "There should be no reason why people can't be as safe at night as they are in the day."

The service will run on Friday and Saturday evenings. Tube services usually end at about 00:30 on many lines.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has given £3.4m towards the cost of providing a visible police presence.

Services will start on Central and Victoria lines this Friday

Ch Supt Horton said policing the Night Tube would be no different to tackling the weekend rush and the main policing challenge would be dealing with people who were "a bit worse for wear" after drinking alcohol.

He said: "Making sure that we look after people, which is our main purpose, but also making sure that people behave themselves and don't cause other people to fear crime.

"That is the main challenge for us but it's the same issue we have on a Friday and Saturday at the moment."

BTP officers are "determined to make sure it's a safe environment" and will focus on known "hotspots" in central London and at the far ends of the network.

New 24-hour buses

Eight new 24-hour buses will also start service this Friday, the mayor said.

Mr Khan said: "The routes will go hand-in-hand with the Night Tube to help Londoners get to and from their front door throughout the night.

"It's another key step in helping everyone travel quickly and safely at night, and another boost to unlocking the full potential of our night-time economy."

New 24-hour bus routes:

• 34 - Barnet Church to Walthamstow Central

• 123 - Ilford High Road to Wood Green

• 145 - Leytonstone to Dagenham

• 158 - Stratford to Chingford Mount

• 296 - Ilford Broadway to Romford

• E1 - Greenford Broadway to Ealing Broadway

• W3 - Finsbury Park to Northumberland Park

• W7 - Finsbury Park to Muswell Hill Broadway