LONDON- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday it should be possible to get more trains on the London Underground to tackle overcrowding happening because of a reduced service during the coronavirus outbreak.

The government and London's mayor have been at odds over whether the city's transport system could run more services as commuters travelled on packed tube carriages despite warnings to keep apart to control the spread of coronavirus. 

"We should be able to run a better tube system at the moment, we should be able to get more tubes on the line," Johnson said in parliament, adding that the government would give London's mayor "every support and help that we can".

Asked by a lawmaker whether black cab drivers could be used to transport health workers around the capital, Johnson said that was an option already being considered.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout and Kylie MacLellan, Editing by Paul Sandle) ((kylie.maclellan@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 0401; Reuters Messaging: kylie.maclellan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))