London tube closures are planned as part of new measures to meet “extraordinarily challenging times”, Sadiq Khan says.

From Friday, the Waterloo & City line will be closed along with 40 stations across the city.

The East London Line's night service is also set to be cancelled to “ensure the resilience of the regular tube and overground services.”

London buses will also operate fewer services as officials urge residents not to use public transport for anything other than essential journeys.

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London's Transport Commissioner, Mike Brown MVO, said: “The advice from Government is clear - people should now only be making journeys that are absolutely essential. We and our staff are doing everything we can to ensure that people who need to make essential journeys can continue to do so.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, added: “People should not be travelling, by any means, unless they really, really have to. Londoners should be avoiding social interaction unless absolutely necessary, and that means they should be avoiding using the transport network unless absolutely necessary.

“London will get through these extraordinarily challenging times, and ensuring the capital's critical workers can move around the city will be crucial.

”Frontline staff across our health and care service - as well as those ensuring Londoners stay safe and can access food and other essentials - should be commended for their hard work. We owe it to them to do whatever we can to help them do their jobs effectively.

“I'm urging Londoners to only use public transport for essential journeys. Everyone should follow this and the other advice to help keep themselves and each other safe.”

From Monday, March 23, TfL will gradually reduce the frequency of other services across the TfL network to provide a service for critical workers to get to where they need to - ensuring that remaining services are not overcrowded.

TfL is aiming to run Tube trains every 4 minutes in Zone 1, with the possibility that this will reduce further.

Similarly, from next week until further notice, London Overground, TfL Rail, the DLR and London Trams will run fewer services.

On the bus network, from Monday, a service similar to a Saturday will run. TfL's extensive night bus network will continue, to provide critical workers with a reliable night option.