Plans for the service, which would make it easier those living in areas not served by the Tube, which already runs a Boxing Day service, to visit relatives and enjoy the festive sales were first announced last year.
However there is still no guaranteed date for its introduction and Mayor Sadiq Khan has now suggested it may not launch at all.
Last June, in answer to a question from Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon, Mayor Khan said that while the contract with Overground operator Arriva Rail London contains provision for the service, its introduction would be “subject to staff consultation” and that “the earliest possible date” it could launch would be Boxing Day 2017.
Asked in July of this year for an update, Mr Khan said TfL expected “to be able to confirm the plan for London Overground Boxing Day services in September.”
However, despite working to start a limited night time service between Dalston Junction and New Cross Gate later this month, TfL has yet to make any official announcement about the Boxing Day service.
The Mayor has now told Ms Pidgeon that TfL is still only “discussing the possibility” of such a service “from 2018” and cautioned that “at this stage, no final decisions have been made.”
Commenting on the Mayor’s response, Ms Pidgeon said: “Sadiq Khan likes to boast about the start of the London Overground night service but he cannot hide away from the fact Londoners have long been promised a Boxing Day service on the London Overground.
“To not even be able to guarantee a service will run next year is bitterly disappointing.”
