TfL to open the Waterloo & City line on Sundays
THE WATERLOO & CITY line is set to run a regular Sunday service for the first time in 65 years, City A.M. has learned.
The news will be a welcome boost to shops and restaurants in the City of London – as well as good news for commuters who are forced to work on the sabbath.
The London Underground route, which runs from Waterloo to Bank, last had a full weekend service in the 1940s and trains now only run for limited hours on Saturdays.
But following a successful trial during this summer’s Olympics, work is underway to run a full seven-day service. A new timetable, which is currently being drafted, is expected to be introduced in summer 2013 and will see services run during the same hours as the rest of the network.
At the moment the last Saturday train runs at 6.30pm and there are no trains at all on Sundays.
Charlotte Fletcher, general manager at shopping centre One New Change, told City A.M. that the news will help boost business at weekends: “We’re delighted that the Waterloo & City line is reopening on Sundays. The City of London has fast transformed into a vibrant place to shop and socialise seven days a week.”
A TfL spokesman said: “We are currently looking at whether it would be viable to operate the line on a permanent basis on Sundays, however this is still under consideration.”
The line is the shortest on the Underground and its regular closures have made it a popular location for filmmakers, with the opening scene from the film Sliding Doors filmed on the W&C platform at Waterloo station.