Travel expert Simon Calder to host a London Underground ‘ask me anything’ live as two new stations open

Today has marked the first time new stations have been opened on the London Underground this century.

Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms opened this morning – and are the first additions to the Northern Line since the Clapham Common to Morden extension was unveiled in 1926.

Work on the two-mile extension began in 2015. Unlike the troubled Crossrail project, which is running over three years late and billions of pounds over budget, the short Northern Line extension cost £1.1bn – £160m less than the maximum allocated. But the cost works out at £100,000 for every foot of the new extension.

The new extension will be served by Charing Cross branch trains only. Trains will run every 10-12 minutes initially.

The frequency will increase when the City branch of the Northern line closes at Bank in the new year, for a project expected to last five months.

The total number of Tube stations on the London Underground network is now 272 – though, as many enthusiasts who were at the opening were keen to point out, Heathrow Terminal 4 is temporally closed due to the Covid crisis.

But what does it mean for commuters and visitors to London alike? How will it change your journey when using the Underground, what are the stations like and what other plans are there for the underground network?

Our travel correspondent Simon Calder was at the opening of Battersea Power Station station this morning and will be on hand this afternoon to answer all your questions.

He will be hosting a live ask me anything event for an hour at 2pm in the comments section below.

Register to submit your question in the Comments below. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the Comments box to leave your question.

Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they will be hidden until Simon joins the conversation to answer them.

Then join us live on this page from 2pm today, as he tackles as many questions as he can within an hour.