Join us to chat about all things related to London transport on our Facebook group, Londonist Roundel Ramblings — everyone welcome.
Over Christmas, Northern Line trains went where they'd never been before: through 3.2km of new tunnels that run between Kennington and Battersea Power Station. These were trial journeys for the Northern Line extension, which will add two new stops to the tube map when it opens in autumn 2021.
The extension, which according to Heidi Alexander, Deputy Mayor for Transport will "support thousands of new jobs and homes for our city" involves the creation of two stations: Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station.
Currently, southbound Northern Line trains either terminate at Kennington or continue down to Morden. However, once the extension launches passengers will also be able to head southwest from here — first to Nine Elms, then on to Battersea.
The test trains successfully navigated both the newly-constructed step-plate junction — which connects the old tunnels to the new — and the crossover junction that allows the trains to return to Kennington. Now the focus has shifted to software testing and fitting-out the new stations, which are the first new additions to the line since 1926.
The precise launch date is currently TBC, but in the meantime, there is plenty of behind-the-scenes goodies to tube aficionados to geek out on — like the below footage of a train travelling the full length of the extension. Take a look, or click here for more background on this major infrastructure project.
