New Tube stations at Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station now open.

New Tube stations at Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms opened their gates yesterday in the first major expansion of the Tube since the Jubilee line was extended in the late 1990s.

Major construction on the 3km twin-tunnel railway between Kennington and Battersea Power Station, via Nine Elms, began in 2015.

The two new step-free Zone 1 Tube stations are set to dramatically improve the connectivity of the south London neighbourhoods.

Budget

TfL has delivered the Northern Line Extension £160m under budget, bringing its estimated final total cost to £1.1bn, despite the cost pressures brought about by the pandemic.

The spending authority budget was increased to £1.26bn in January 2016, but TfL says it has worked hard through strong collaboration with suppliers to ensure the project provides value for money.

The new connectivity will be supporting around 25,000 new jobs and more than 20,000 new homes. In addition, construction of the extension boosted the UK economy and supported around 1,000 jobs, including 79 apprenticeships.

The Greater London Authority borrowed £1bn for the latest project, which will be funded through business rates from the local area and about £270m of contributions from developers.

New Service

There will initially be a peak-time service of six trains an hour, falling to five an hour during off-peak periods. The frequency of services will be doubled by the middle of next year.

Tube services started running on the extension, which is on the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line, at 05:28 yesterday.

Environmentally Aware

The Northern Line Extension excavated around 850,000 tonnes of waste material in total during the lifetime of the construction project. 92% of the excavated material was carried in around 700 barge journeys along the River Thames to East Tilbury in Essex where it was used to create arable farmland.

Transporting the excavated material in this way removed around 47,000 lorry journeys from the capital’s busy roads, reducing traffic congestion and helping to keep people walking and cycling safe. It also saved more than 2,600 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “After years of hard work, I’m delighted that we’re able to open the Northern Line Extension today and it was great to have the chance to travel on one of the first trains between Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station.

"This extension will hugely improve the links between these vibrant, growing south London neighbourhoods and the rest of the capital, and will also help to support thousands of new jobs and homes as we move forward with London’s recovery from the pandemic.

"The new stations are beautiful and I encourage Londoners and visitors to start using the Northern Line Extension to get around and help them enjoy everything the capital has to offer.”

World Famous

Transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “London's world-famous Tube network has two new stations from today, the first stops to be added so far this century, with names that will soon become familiar to Londoners as they return to public transport after the pandemic.

"Ahead of the opening of the Elizabeth line next year, these upgrades extend vital connectivity across the greatest city in the world and show the power of transport connections.”

Around 100 members of station staff work at the two new stations, which are both step-free from street to train.

The total number of London Underground stations is now 272, and 88 of these stations are now step-free.

 Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London said:

“This extension will hugely improve the links between these vibrant, growing south London neighbourhoods and the rest of the capital, and will also help to support thousands of new jobs and homes as we move forward with London’s recovery from the pandemic.

"The new stations are beautiful and I encourage Londoners and visitors to start using the Northern Line Extension to get around and help them enjoy everything the capital has to offer.”