Transport for London has announced that on November 8, tunnelling works for Northern Line Extension were completed, creating the two 3.2 km tunnels Battersea to Kennington, via Nine Elms. The extension, targeted for completion in 2020, is the first major extension to a Tube line since the Jubilee line in the late 1990s.
Since their launch in the spring, Helen and Amy TBMs have been working to create the north and southbound tunnels that will extend the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line.
“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,” the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said. 
It will add vital new capacity to the Capital’s transport network, bringing Battersea and surrounding areas to within 15 minutes of the City and the West End. It will also enable the regeneration of the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea areas.
A conveyor system was used to take more than 300,000 tonnes of excavated earth to barges on the River Thames where it was transported to Goshems Farm in East Tilbury, Essex, saving thousands of lorry journeys from the Capital’s roads. The earth has been used to create arable farmland.
In 2014 TfL awarded the contract to design and build the Northern Line Extension to Ferrovial Agroman Laing O’Rourke.
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