[title]
The Northern line is an interesting one. From the iconic ‘Poetry Corner’ at Tufnell Park to both the longest escalator and deepest stations on the tube (Angel and Hampstead respectively). But let’s not kid ourselves, it has needed updating for a while. Now, for the first time in 80 years, new Northern line stations are opening. Major construction of the two new stops, at Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms, on an extension of the Charing Cross branch, began in 2015, aiming to increase accessibility between these thriving areas of the south bank and central London: and it couldn’t have opened at a better time to help post-pandemic recovery. TfL has reported that the development is supporting 25,000 new jobs and more than 20,000 homes.
September 20 is the day that passengers have to mind the gap at these new stations for the first time, but the service will reach its maximum frequency of trains in mid-2022. The Battersea Power Station stop is part of a larger redevelopment project of the Grade II-listed industrial building which will include restaurants, housing and outdoor spaces. The £1bn investment in the Northern line also includes sustainable housing built in Nine Elms, as well as more than 600 tonnes of the dug-up material being reused to create farmland.
Make sure if you’re simply commuting from these new stations or a hobbying ferroequinologist (that’s a rail nerd, word nerds) eager to check them out, look out for the ‘Art of the Underground’ project, a colourful 100m long artistic offering from Alexandre de Cunha at Battersea Power Station station.
‘Creepy’ ‘Naked Attraction’ ads to be removed from London buses.