The highly anticipated new East London Line, which forms a key part of the London Overground network, has been opened to the public.

This week will see a preview service, whereby eight trains will run every hour between Dalston junction and New Cross Gate. The service will operate from Monday to Friday between 0700 BST and 2000 BST.

Comprehensive weekend and evening services will start on the 23rd of May, at which point one dozen trains will run every hour. The train services will run across Whitechapel Station and also Shoreditch High Street, which has been earmarked as a flagship Zone 1 stop.

Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, officially opened the route amid a large media contingent. Johnson claimed that the new rail line would create opportunities and jobs to communities along the line and would ultimately lead to the improvement of transport access for hundreds of thousands of capital residents.

Mayor Johnson hailed the overground service as the type of investment that was needed in London if the city was to rid itself of the lingering effects of the recession. Such progress, claimed Johnson, was integral to London consolidating its position as one of the world’s premier cities.

The opening represents the first phase of a £1bn extension to the line, with trains featuring carriages with no separating doors – enabling passenger movement along the length of the train. Oyster card users can also take advantage of the new link.