The London Overground will add early morning capacity on services from Gospel Oak to Barking from next month.

The line will benefit from two extra services before 6am to meet “growing customer numbers”.

Read more: Crossrail delay until 2021 may cost London £2bn

Rory O’Neill, TfL’s general manager for London Overground, said: “These additional early morning trains are being introduced to meet growing customer demand on the route since the introduction of the new electric trains earlier this year.”

The new services begin on 16 December, just a day after Crossrail will officially start running limited services.

The £15 bn project, which was supposed to open in December 2018, has had its full rollout pushed back until 2021.

However, services will begin running on 15 December on the line between Paddington and Reading.

It will come under the banner of TfL Rail, instead of the Elizabeth line as it will eventually be known.

Howard Smith, operations director for TfL Rail, said: “Running TfL Rail services to Reading is an important step towards opening the Elizabeth line and reinforces the key transport links between these two areas for local people and businesses.

“Customers will benefit from the free travel for under-11s and the convenience of pay as you go contactless fares from the New Year.”

Crossrasil’s delays may ultimately mean the project runs £2bn over budget, thanks to lost fare revenues and extra construction costs.

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Speaking to mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the TfL board last month, Tfl chief financial officer Simon Kilonback said the latest delay would have a “material impact” on future revenues for years to come.

“We will be building scenarios into our business plan that cope with a range of options which could account for as much as £500 million to £750 million in revenue impact spread over four years,” he said.

