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London's 24-hour Tube service is being trialled this weekend ahead of its official launch on August 19.

Transport for London have confirmed that passenger-free trains will be running overnight on the Victoria and Central lines on August 12 and 13 - one week before the service goes live.

A TFL spokesman said: "The trains will involve operational staff - station and train staff - and no customers so it will be behind closed doors"

The trial, testing the operational readiness of the new service, will commence after the last Tube on Friday and Saturday night so won't impact customer travel.

The Night Tube was announced in September 2014 but has been repeatedly delayed by a series of disputes between Tube workers and TFL over pay and work conditions.

The service will decrease journey times by an average of 20 minutes and support around 2,000 permanent jobs, boosting London’s economy by £360m.

TfL chief Mike Brown said: “It is good news for London. More than half a million people use the Tube after 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and the introduction of the Night Tube, which will support London’s businesses and jobs, is a historic step in our modernisation of the Underground and our work to support London’s economic growth.”

It will go live on the Central and Victoria lines next week, with Piccadilly, Jubilee and Northern lines to get the 24-service in the autumn.

There will be six trains per hour on each line between 00:30am and 05:30am, which will rise to eight per hour on the Northern line to meet demand between Leicester Square and Camden Town.

Trains will run on the entire line on the Victoria and Jubilee lines, on the Central between Ealing Broadway and Loughton / Hainault, on the entire Northern line except Mill Hill East and Bank branches, and between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5 on the Piccaddilly line.