Mayor visits new metro station as Northern Line extension nears completion UK News

Sadiq Khan visited the new Nine Elms metro station today as the Northern Line extension is nearing completion.

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

The Mayor of London said the extension would support up to 25,000 new jobs and 20,000 new homes and help “jumpstart our economy” after the pandemic.

Mr Khan said: “I said jobs, jobs, jobs will be a top priority for my administration, so I’m delighted that the northern line extension is on track to open this fall, bringing Battersea and the surrounding area within 15 minutes. the West End and the city. It will be the first major tube expansion of this century, and it couldn’t come at a better time to support our city’s recovery from the pandemic and revive 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 is a key example of how new transportation projects stimulate regeneration and shows how essential a reliable and integrated network is for our city, now and in the future.

The project is the first major extension of the metro network since the extension of the Jubilee Line eastward 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 perform final testing over the summer.

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

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

Speaking in March this year, Andy Byford said TfL needs to “finish what has already started” and prioritize completing projects like Crossrail before starting new projects.