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Overcrowding on two of London’s major Tube lines will get worse, union bosses today warned after it emerged TfL had shelved plans to buy more trains.

Transport for London told the Standard on Tuesday that plans to buy a total of 27 trains to be used across the Jubilee and Northern Lines had been “temporarily paused”.

However, drivers’ union Aslef insisted officials had told representatives privately that the idea had been completely “disbanded”.

The transport body had planned to purchase 17 Northern line trains in a bid to increase services to 30 per hour, a spokesman for Aslef said.

Plans to buy a further 10 Jubilee line trains, increasing services to 36-per-hour, have also been put on hold, he added.

Finn Brennan, the union’s organiser on the London Underground, said: "It is deeply disappointing and looks like a classic example of making medium-term savings that damage the long-term ability of the Tube to cope with London's growth.

"The Northern line is one of the most overcrowded parts of the Underground and passenger demand is projected to grow by a further 25 per cent by 2023.

Faces of frustration: Battling the Tube strike 17 show all Faces of frustration: Battling the Tube strike 1/17 A tired commuter sits on a bus at Liverpool Street Jeremy Selwyn 2/17 A man looks through window on a bus at Victoria Station Carl Court/Getty Images 3/17 The top deck of a bus full on unimpressed commuters Stefan Rousseau/PA 4/17 Commuters queue patiently at Victoria bus station Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images 5/17 A man yawns on his way to work, as extra buses are laid on to help with capacity during a 24-hour tube strike Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images 6/17 Unhappy commuters on a bus at Victoria Station Alex Lentati 7/17 A man looks out on a window on a bus whilst battling the 24 hour tube strike Stefan Rousseau/PA 8/17 Commuters in Stratford, London wait for buses Stefan Rousseau/PA 9/17 A bus loaded with passengers bear the brunt on London Underground industrial action PAJohn Stillwell/PA 10/17 Disgruntled commuters walk across London Bridge making their way to work on foot Leon Neal/Getty Images 11/17 Commuters are seen through the windows of extra buses AFP/Getty Images 12/17 Bus queues at Liverpool Street Jeremy Selwyn 13/17 A woman wait for a bus at Liverpool Street Jeremy Selwyn 14/17 Commuters are seen through the windows of extra buses Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images 15/17 A woman make a call on her phone during the tube strike Jeremy Selwyn 16/17 Commuters queue for busses at Victoria Station Carl Court/Getty Images 17/17 People queue for buses at London's Waterloo Station Dominic Lipinski/PA 1/17 A tired commuter sits on a bus at Liverpool Street Jeremy Selwyn 2/17 A man looks through window on a bus at Victoria Station Carl Court/Getty Images 3/17 The top deck of a bus full on unimpressed commuters Stefan Rousseau/PA 4/17 Commuters queue patiently at Victoria bus station Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images 5/17 A man yawns on his way to work, as extra buses are laid on to help with capacity during a 24-hour tube strike Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images 6/17 Unhappy commuters on a bus at Victoria Station Alex Lentati 7/17 A man looks out on a window on a bus whilst battling the 24 hour tube strike Stefan Rousseau/PA 8/17 Commuters in Stratford, London wait for buses Stefan Rousseau/PA 9/17 A bus loaded with passengers bear the brunt on London Underground industrial action PAJohn Stillwell/PA 10/17 Disgruntled commuters walk across London Bridge making their way to work on foot Leon Neal/Getty Images 11/17 Commuters are seen through the windows of extra buses AFP/Getty Images 12/17 Bus queues at Liverpool Street Jeremy Selwyn 13/17 A woman wait for a bus at Liverpool Street Jeremy Selwyn 14/17 Commuters are seen through the windows of extra buses Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images 15/17 A woman make a call on her phone during the tube strike Jeremy Selwyn 16/17 Commuters queue for busses at Victoria Station Carl Court/Getty Images 17/17 People queue for buses at London's Waterloo Station Dominic Lipinski/PA

"Without new trains, overcrowding will get worse and worse and the Northern line risks returning to the days when it was known to millions of Londoners as the "misery line".”

A TfL spokesman said engineers and planners had shifted their focus to introducing a new timetable in January.

It looks set to see the frequency of trains currently used in peak time run for longer periods during the day.

David Hughes, LU's director for strategy and network development, said: "The benefits from the largest investment programme in the Tube's history, combined with the huge capacity increases coming soon from the arrival of the Elizabeth line, means that we are temporarily pausing our plans to buy more trains for the Jubilee and Northern lines.

"Our modernisation programme and in-depth technical work by our new combined engineering division has improved performance and reliability.

"This means we can increase the frequency of our existing trains without the immediate need for new trains, making journeys quicker and more comfortable for thousands of customers every day."