The Night Tube is 10 but misses Dulwich, Peckham and Camberwell. We timed the trip home to nine local stops, weekend and midweek. Checked November 2026.
The Night Tube is 10 years old and still has no stop in Dulwich, Peckham or Camberwell, so getting home here after the last train means a night bus, with or without a Tube ride first. Transport for London (TfL) marked the anniversary on Thursday 5 November with London After Dark, a report written with Time Out, which says more than 81,000 Night Tube journeys are now made on an average night.
The report’s headline finding is that 88 per cent of the Londoners questioned have stayed out later because they knew public transport was running. TfL’s night map shows how that looks from south of Peckham Road. The nearest stop for Herne Hill and West Dulwich is Brixton, the end of the Victoria line. Southwark’s own stops are all in the north of the borough: London Bridge, Southwark, Bermondsey and Canada Water on the Jubilee line, and Canada Water, Rotherhithe and Surrey Quays on the Windrush line.
Two gaps are easy to miss. Northern line night trains run only via Charing Cross, so Elephant & Castle is not on the night map at all. And the Windrush line’s night trains run between Highbury & Islington and New Cross Gate, which leaves out Peckham Rye, Queens Road Peckham and Denmark Hill.
How long it takes to get home
We asked TfL’s journey planner for the first option after 2.30am from Piccadilly Circus, on two nights: a Night Tube night, in the early hours of Saturday 14 November, and a midweek night, in the early hours of Wednesday 18 November. The times include walking and waiting.
| Going to | Friday night | Route | Midweek | Route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herne Hill | 30 min | Tube to Brixton, then N3 | 29 min | N3 |
| West Dulwich | 33 min | Tube to Brixton, then N3 | 32 min | N3 |
| Camberwell Green | 34 min | N136, N53, then N171 | 29 min | 139, then 176 |
| Peckham Rye | 39 min | 453, then N63 | 37 min | 139, then N63 |
| Denmark Hill | 40 min | Tube to Leicester Square, then 176 | 29 min | 139, then 176 |
| Queens Road Peckham | 40 min | N136, N53, then N171 | 34 min | 139, then N171 |
| North Dulwich | 43 min | Tube to Brixton, then 37 | 44 min | N3, then 37 |
| East Dulwich | 44 min | Tube to Leicester Square, then 176 | 32 min | 139, then 176 |
| Nunhead Green | 55 min | N136, N53, then N171 | 49 min | 139, then N171 |
So on these two nights the Night Tube saved almost nothing here. Only Herne Hill, West Dulwich and North Dulwich use a long Tube ride at all. North Dulwich came out a minute faster on the Friday, while Herne Hill and West Dulwich came out a minute slower by Tube and bus than on the direct N3 midweek. These are single planned journeys, not measured ones, and a different departure could change the order. The Tube’s advantage may be waiting time: the planner’s N3 left Piccadilly Circus 30 minutes apart midweek, at 02:48 and 03:18.
Several routes reach the area without a change. On TfL’s route data, the N3 from Oxford Circus calls at Herne Hill and West Dulwich. The 12 from Oxford Circus runs through Camberwell Green and Peckham Rye to Dulwich Library, and the planner offered it at 02:45 on the Friday night, reaching Peckham Rye at 03:21. The 176 from Tottenham Court Road serves Camberwell Green, East Dulwich and Dulwich Library. The N63 and N343 both call at Peckham Rye station, and the N171 at Camberwell Green and Queens Road Peckham.
What the report found
Time Out and TfL followed about 200 Londoners from Time Out’s own research community for a week in September, through surveys, diaries, creative tasks and personal stories, and interviewed six people who work in the night-time economy. The percentages describe that group rather than a poll of all Londoners. TfL gives these main findings:
- 88 per cent have stayed out later because they knew public transport was running
- 77 per cent say knowing how they will get home matters when deciding where to go
- 55 per cent believe great nights out are increasingly spread across the capital rather than concentrated in central London
That last figure is the one that ought to suit Peckham, but TfL’s own examples of the spread do not come here. Its list of openings and announcements this autumn covers Apple Music Hall at Battersea Power Station, Blue Note in Covent Garden, the Ironworks warehouse venue at the Royal Docks, fabric’s concerts at St Paul’s Cathedral, protected status for Heaven and next summer’s 20th birthday shows at The O2.
The report follows a separate Time Out analysis that put London first among 26 European capitals for nightlife and public transport combined, ahead of Vienna and Paris. It drew on 5,848 responses in 23 languages, with people rating their own city on a five-point scale and the two scores weighted equally.
Ten years in numbers
The first Night Tube ran on the Central and Victoria lines on 19 August 2016, and the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines followed later that year. TfL gives these figures:
- More than 50,000 journeys on the first night
- More than 81,000 journeys on an average night now, with Saturdays typically busier than Fridays
- More than 67 million customers carried on Night Tube and Night Overground services since 2016
- 50 Night Tube stations with step-free access
All stations are staffed while open and have full CCTV coverage, TfL says. It also says it is on track for high-speed mobile coverage across the whole Tube network, including in tunnels, by the end of the year, with more than 70 per cent of underground stations already covered by 4G and 5G.
What they said
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “For the past decade, the Night Tube has been a defining feature of London as a world-leading 24-hour city, helping Londoners and visitors enjoy everything our great capital has to offer, and supporting our vital workers and businesses to boost our night-time economy.”
He added: “This report really brings to life how The Night Tube connects Londoners and visitors with our city’s incredible cultural offering, helping people discover new venues and events in new parts of the capital while ensuring they can travel home safely and affordably at any hour.”
Claire Mann, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “London at night has changed significantly over the past decade, and the Night Tube has evolved alongside it, helping people travel to work, meet friends and enjoy everything the capital has to offer after dark.”
Coral Anderson, co-owner and managing director of Swift Bars, said: “When people know they can get home easily, they’re more likely to explore a new neighbourhood, stay for another drink and make the most of everything London has to offer.”
Ed Richardson, programme director for transport at BusinessLDN, said: “Reliable late-night transport is essential to a thriving 24-hour city, giving Londoners and visitors the confidence to enjoy everything London has to offer. Keeping the city moving after dark will be key to helping its night-time economy continue to thrive.”
What it means for you
- Before the last train: on the Friday night of 13 November, the planner’s last direct trains leave London Bridge at 00:01 for Peckham Rye, East Dulwich and North Dulwich, and Victoria at 00:03 for Peckham Rye and 00:27 for Herne Hill and West Dulwich. The first ones out of London Bridge to East Dulwich the next morning are after 06:30. Times from each station are on our Dulwich trains to London page; check the night you travel.
- Fares: Night Tube fares are off-peak, and a Day Travelcard stays valid for journeys starting before 04:30 the next day.
- Any night but Friday or Saturday: the Night Tube does not run, so the N3, N63, N171 and the 176 are what you have.
- Going on past Peckham Rye: check our roadworks page for this week’s closures and diversions before you rely on a night bus.
TfL’s release is on its newsroom. Time Out offers the full report as a download.
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