Mayor visits new Tube station as Northern Line extension nears end

Sadiq Khan visited the new Nine Elms Tube station today as the Northern Line extension nears completion.

Expected to open to passengers in September, the project will extend the Northern Line from Kennington to two new stations with step-free access at Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station.

The Mayor of London has said the extension will support as many as 25,000 new jobs and 20,000 new homes and that it will help “kick-start our economy” post-pandemic.

Mr Khan said: “I’ve said that jobs, jobs, jobs will be a major priority for my administration so I’m delighted that the Northern Line Extension is on track to open this autumn, bringing Battersea and surrounding areas within 15 minutes of the West End and the City. It will be the first major Tube extension this century, and it couldn’t come at a better time to support our city’s recovery from the pandemic and kick-start our economy.

“The extension will support tens of thousands of much-needed new homes and jobs, and make these parts of London a more attractive destination for people to work, live and visit. It’s a key example of how new transport projects drive regeneration and shows how central a reliable, joined up network is for our city, both now and in the future.”

The project is the first major extension to the Tube network since the Jubilee Line was extended eastwards in the late 1990s, and marks the first addition of new stations to the Northern Line since the 1920s.

TfL began testing trains along the new 3km tunnels in December and will carry out final tests over the summer.

While the Northern Line extension looks set to be completed by autumn, TfL commissioner Andy Byford confirmed earlier this year that a planned extension to the Bakerloo Line was “on hold” due to financial constraints.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps had issued guidance to safeguard the potential route of the Bakerloo Line extension from Elephant and Castle through to Lewisham so that land needed for the project could not be developed on.

Speaking in March this year, Andy Byford said that TfL had to “finish what’s already started” and prioritise completing projects such as Crossrail before beginning new projects.