The government has given the green light to a £1bn scheme to extend the Northern Line to Nine Elms and Battersea, with construction due to begin in spring of 2015, confirmed by the Department of Transport.
A consortium between Ferovial Argoman and Laing O’Rourke will soon begin preparations in advance of the start of construction.
The extension is expected to reduce journey times into the west end by fifteen minutes when completed, taking the pressure off the rest of the transport network as well as providing Nine Elms with Zone One status.
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “I am delighted we can confirm that early next year the spades will be hitting the ground for the creation of the Northern Line extension. The benefits of a major infrastructure project such as this are enormous – cutting journey times for passengers, supporting London’s future growth and creating jobs right across the UK.”
The cost of the extension will be met through contributions from Battersea Power Station and other developments that will benefit from the project, in addition to a new Enterprise Zone from 2016. This is an innovative funding package agreed between the Mayor of London and government.
In addition to three miles of new tunnelling, two new stations will be created and completed by 2020. One will be situated at Battersea Power Station, with the second at Nine Elms.
It is hoped that the project will create a thousand new jobs within London in addition to supporting the development of 18,000 new homes.
It is expected the extended line will open by 2020.