A study by RMT of Transport for London’s latest accounts reveals that the number of managers earning between £70,000 and £99,000 had more than doubled to nearly 800 – which matches the number of front-line station staff that Tube bosses want to axe.

The 2008/09 accounts also reveal that more than 200 TfL managers were paid between £100,000 and £199,999 – again more than double the 2007-08 level – while a dozen get between £200,000 and £300,000, two receive more than £400,000 and one tops £570,000.

The accounts also show the staggering write-off of more than £1.5 billion arising from the disastrous collapse of PPP consortium Metronet.

“It is nothing short of rank hypocrisy for TfL to double the number of bosses on telephone-number salaries while attempting to plug the gaping hole left by the collapse of Metronet by sacking front-line staff,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“Our members will be incensed when they see these figures, and will no doubt be more determined than ever to put a stop to the plan to slash station staff across the network.

“We have already caught TfL red-handed with plans to use the recession as a pretext to slash staff, ignore agreed procedures and try to break the union, and now we know they are rewarding themselves handsomely for wielding the axe.

“If these plans are not shelved our members will be urged to vote for strike action, and I hope that Tube users will back our Staff Our Stations campaign to keep the network they rely on safely staffed.”

"The 2008/09 accounts reveal more than 200 TfL managers were paid between £100k and £200k."