The first passengers on the first train from two new London Underground stations said they were excited to experience "history as it happens" today (September 20).

The £1 billion Northern line extension to Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station has been over 10 years in the making.

It runs from Kennington station on the Charing Cross branch.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to the first commuters on the first service at 5.28am about the new extension.

Transport Youtuber, Tom Wright said: "I thought it would be fun to come down, you know, experience a bit of the old history as it happens.

"I think it's a really interesting project especially in the wake of the pandemic with so many projects being put back."

However, the 38-year-old said: "I don't think it's as useful as a Bakerloo Line extension would be.

"I think it's good that Battersea is going to have direct access to the West End and to the city."

Train fanatics and friends Lia Calzolari, 25, and Sebastian Dalipi, 18, travelled from Hertfordshire at 1.00am to make it to the first tube ride.

Lia said: "We're so happy, we're excited. We wanted to do something new so we thought 'why not?'

"There are so many more opportunities, thanks to this, I actually use the Northern line a lot."

Train enthusiast James Boohan, said: "This is something that hasn't been done for about 20/30 years so it's something exciting."

The 19-year-old from Pimlico added: "When I saw that this was opening, I thought, okay, I'm going to go and have a ride on the first train."

The first train from Kennington to Battersea Power Station was tested in December 2020, with 2021 being a period of signal system testing.

While tunnelling into Kennington station, builders had to hand mine with primitive tools including their hands around the existing tunnel because you can't bring heavy machinery into the station.

Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station are the first two Northern line stations in 80 years – the first major tube extension this century.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Wandsworth Council leader, Ravi Govindia said: "There is a community already here, and there's a new community coming here – 20,000 new homes will be built in this area and of course it is absolutely vital, vital to both bring people in and take people out."

He added: "This area was originally zone two and now it is zone one. It means that if you if you start your journey in Battersea you could either go from zone two to six in the same categorization of that from one to one.

"I think it's great that this is actually genuinely Central London."

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