TfL and unions go back to the table over Night Tube
The Night Tube negotiations are the will-they-won't-they debate of our generation. Who needs Harry and Sally when you have Transport for London and the unions?
Today the two sides return to the table to see if they can thrash out a deal around the 24-hour service, which was supposed to have launched on 12 September but has since been kicked into the long grass.
Morning Wire has revealed that insiders secretly believe it could be well into next year before the Night Tube is up and running, and cast doubts over whether it could be launched in 2016 at all.
But both sides – in public at least – are hoping to find a solution at Acas.
RMT's general secretary Mick Cash said: “We are committed to delivering a Night Tube service that works for Londoners and which properly rewards and respects the staff across the network who will be absolutely key to making it tick.
"Safety of both staff and passengers has to be right at the core of any agreement.
“Our negotiators have spent hundreds of hours working line by line through the detail in each of the underground functional groups and we will be in talks at ACAS today looking to make significant progress on the outstanding pay and conditions issues that will take us towards a start date.
“The underground is vital to the future of London and with a booming population and soaring passenger demand staffing is critical to the future success and safety of our transport systems.".
On TfL's side, the network has previously cut unions out of talks, saying it wants to go directly to staff members after having endured months of getting nowhere in negotiations.
However, having shared the offer with staff, today's talks will be union bosses once again.
We await the outcome with baited breath…