Tube must not be victim says chief

He made clear the Tube, which carries 3.3 million people a day, is "far more important than Crossrail".

Mainline rail chiefs have already expressed private fears that Crossrail could reduce the amount of cash for improving the railways.

But Mr O'Toole said: "Crossrail is great but it does not give to London what the Tube does."

He is battling to get billions more to fund the Tube and to complete vital work on the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines by 2017.

He told the Guardian: "If you can put together a political coalition to create Crossrail, surely you can get one to sustain the Tube?"

Mr O'Toole added that if the extra funding were not forthcoming the service would deteriorate, given the steady increase in passenger numbers.