TRANSPORT journalist Christian Wolmar is ahead of two long-serving MPs in the contest to be Labour’s candidate for London mayor, a survey revealed yesterday as he attempted to visit every station on the Tube.

Mr Wolmar was racing against the clock as the Star went to press last night, striving to beat the record of visiting all 270 Underground stations in 16 hours, 14 minutes and 10 seconds.

Party bigwigs predicted that the RAIL magazine columnist would fail to make Labour’s mayoral shortlist — but a straw poll for grassroots site LabourList put him above MP rivals David Lammy and Gareth Thomas yesterday, in fourth place with 9 per cent of the vote.

Blairite former minister Tessa Jowell was in first place, with 36 per cent of the survey’s 2,791 respondents backing her. MPs Sadiq Khan and Diane Abbott took 23 per cent each.

Starting at Rickmansworth at 6am, Mr Wolmar travelled between the stations on buses and by foot — including 10 miles of running — as well as on the Tube. He aimed to finish his tour at Heathrow airport by 10pm.

“I doubt that any London mayor or candidate has ever been to every Tube station, let alone in one day,” he said.

The LabourList survey also put Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy narrowly ahead in the party’s deputy leadership race with 31 per cent of the vote. Previous frontrunner Tom Watson is on 27 per cent.

Angela Eagle, supported by the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy, narrowly pipped rightwinger Caroline Flint to third place.

Ms Eagle told the Star that some party officials had ended up “in a bubble” during the general election campaign.