Transport For London have announced that two 3.2km tunnels on the Northern Line between Battersea and Kennington have been created.
The new Northern Line Extension, which will go via Nine Elms, will support around 25,000 new jobs and 20,000+ new homes in the area.
The extension is expected to be completed in 2020.
Amy, a huge tunnel boring machine, broke through at Kennington. Helen and Amy – the two tunneling machines – were launched in the spring to create the two new tunnels.
This is the first major extension to a tube line since the Jubilee line in the 1990s.
A conveyor-belt system was used to take the rubble and earth out. This equaled more than 300,000 tonnes. The earth was then conveyed to the River Thames where barges took it too Essex. This saved thousands of lorry journeys.
The earth has now been used to create farmland (arable).
What did the officials say?
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Today's breakthrough is a momentous moment for a project that is going to bring huge benefits to south London. The Northern Line Extension is not only going to make travelling to Battersea and Nine Elms easier, it's also going to bring tens of thousands of new jobs and homes to the area. It's another great example of why new infrastructure is so vital to London's success and the wider economy.”
Mike Brown MVO, London's Transport Commissioner, said: “I'm delighted to welcome the two tunnelling machines to Kennington after their epic journey. Both machines have had to navigate a challenging, congested path under south London which included sewers, power cables, a Victorian-era well, and existing Victoria and Northern line tunnels. This achievement brings us a significant step closer to the delivery of the first major Tube extension in nearly two decades.”
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