Northern Line extension sees two new London Underground Tube stations

Two new Tube stations open with the Northern Line extension, the first major expansion of the London Underground this century.

Following a £1.1bn project, the first train on the Northern line’s new route left Battersea Power Station at 05:28 BST. It then called at another new station, Nine Elms, before coming to existing Tube station Kennington.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says the services will play “a major role” in recovery of the capital.

Mr Khan is “proud and grateful” that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps joined him on one of the first trains at the new Battersea Power Station. Even though the two have a long-running fight over funding for Transport for London (TfL).

He says “it’s great to see the difference teamwork … [and] investing in infrastructure makes in relation to unlocking jobs and homes”. Most of what we use today was built around the country, so “every pound we spend on the Underground, 55 pence goes to the rest of the country”.

This work marks the first major expansion of the Tube since the extension of the Jubilee line in the late 1990s.

To complete the project, the Greater London Authority borrowed £1bn. The funding will come via business rates from the local area, and around £270m in developer contributions.

The new services

TfL staff and journalists, along with a collection of train enthusiasts, gathered at Battersea Power Station before sunrise. Gates opened at 05:20 BST for the first time to the public, with over 100 passengers bustling along the platform to catch the first service to Kennington. A plethora of smartphones signalled a historic moment and a trip worth documenting.

Although the Tube stations are freshly constructed, the trains that are running are not new.

The two new stations, Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms, brings the south London total to over 30 for the first time ever. Work on the two mile railway tunnel connecting Battersea to Kennington started in 2015.

To begin with, a peak-time service of six trains an hour will run, reducing to five at off-peak times. By the middle of next year, the frequency of services will double.

TfL estimate the new services will help support 25,000 new jobs and 20,000 new homes. Billions of pounds is invested into the area over recent years. This includes redeveloping Battersea Power Station for business and residential use, and building a new US embassy in Nine Elms.

Commissioner Andy Byford is “stunned” and “couldn’t be more proud”. Seeing the “delight on customers’ faces” makes it all “worthwhile”. He likens it to “a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis”.

The total number of Tube stations on the whole London Underground network is now up to 272.

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