Croydon Council is preparing an ambitious bid to bring an extension of the London Underground network to the town.

The council is to lobby transport bosses to bring the Bakerloo line to Croydon and put the borough "metaphorically and literally well and truly on the map".

The line currently terminates in the south at Elephant and Castle but Transport for London (TfL) has drawn up plans to lengthen it to Bromley by 2030.

Croydon Council hopes to capitalise on Bromley Council's opposition to the proposed extension by pushing for the line to be diverted south-west from Lewisham instead.

A Bakerloo line station in Croydon would give the borough direct transport links to Waterloo, Charing Cross, Oxford Circus and Paddington, as well as faster connections with much of the Tube network.

Although the idea remains in its infancy, Croydon Council leader Councillor Tony Newman hopes to hold serious talks with Mayor of London Boris Johnson in the autumn.

He said: "In terms of Croydon's expansion - 350,000 people rapidly heading to 400,000 - and in terms of the fantastic use of the transport network and the pressure on it, we think it is the moment to bring it to Croydon.

"I think it is the logical next step. The Tube map is one of the iconic maps of the world and I would hope that coupled with the changing face of Croydon and the things we're doing with art, culture, Westfield and Hammerson, the retail offer coming to Croydon, it would put it metaphorically and literally well and truly on the map."

Last year, 96 per cent of respondents to TfL's consultation backed proposals for a £3bn extension that would take the Bakerloo line through Lewisham, Sydenham and Beckenham before ending at Hayes, in Bromley.

TfL hopes to start work by 2025.

But January this year Bromley Council branded the plans "unacceptable" and said it would prefer to bring the Docklands Light Railway or Tramlink to the borough.

Coun Newman said: "I think it should have been Croydon in the first place and not Bromley.

"There is very strong cross-party support for it in Croydon.

"I'm confident that we will be having meetings [with the Mayor] and I'm confident that if I'm able to say this has very strong support in Croydon, then that makes the case much, much stronger when we're discussing it with TfL and others."

The existing proposals for the Bakerloo line extension

Any Tube extension to Croydon would be likely to stop at East Croydon or West Croydon stations, while an unused platform at Norwood Junction could also be considered. At least some of the line would likely be overground.

Steve O'Connell, Croydon's Great London Authority member, said he supported the idea and would raise it at City Hall.

Although engineers could put the brakes on the proposal, he said it should "not be beyond beyond the wit" of TfL to find an achievable route to the town.

He added: "For long, long time people have been saying, 'why can't we get the Underground to come south? And for too long there has institutional objections from the centre. Let's overcome that.

"If there is money in the budget and another borough doesn't want it, let's bring it to Croydon."

A Transport for London spokesman could not immediately say whether bringing the Bakerloo line to Croydon was feasible, but said the extension would require negotiations with Network Rail.

Do you want to see the Tube come to Croydon? Post a comment below or email letters@croydonguardian.co.uk