London Underground cooling budget cut by £10m

The budget to cool Tube carriages on the London Underground (LU) has been slashed by £10m.

Transport for London (TfL) has said due to budgetary restrictions it will spend £30m on cooling the Tube this year.

The money will mainly be spent on the Victoria Line where the number of fans are being doubled.

The mayor's office said cooling the network was still a priority but it had to ensure it was getting value for money as part of the network upgrade.

A spokesman for the mayor said: "There are issues around budgets and we have to make sure we are getting best value for every pound that is being invested in upgrading the underground system.

"If we can integrate improving the way the network works as well as cooling it, as part of the upgrade works, that is really being more efficient.

"Cooling the system is still a priority for us."

Despite the cut to funds for cooling the Tube a LU "Passenger heat strain" map identifies which lines pose the highest risk to commuters should they become stuck on a stalled train.

The Piccadilly, Northern, Central, Bakerloo and Waterloo and City lines are all marked as "high risk".

Throughout the summer trains with air-conditioning will be introduced on the Metropolitan Line and this will subsequently be rolled out across 40% of the network.

A TfL spokesperson said: "We will continue to look for solutions for other parts of the network as and when funding becomes available."