Passengers on the London Underground (LU) are to benefit from the introduction of a 'historic' new night tube service.

The introduction of the new 24-hour service at weekends will cut night-time journeys by an average of 20 minutes and some by more than an hour.

In addition, it will support around 2,000 permanent jobs and deliver a £360 million boost to the economy by creating more opportunities.

The new service has been made possible as a result of the continued modernisation of significant parts of the LU network and improved levels of reliability.

Boris Johnson, mayor of London, said: "London is a bustling, 24-hour global city and by this time next year we'll have a 24-hour tube service to match," adding that it would make the capital "an even better place to live, work, visit and invest".

The night service is scheduled to launch in September 2015, coinciding with the beginning of the Rugby World Cup.