Battersea Power Station: Who wakes up before sunrise to ride the new Tube?

Battersea Power Station is the 272nd station on the Tube map

The first new Tube stations to be added to the Northern line in 80 years have just opened. So who was on board the first train?

In the darkness before sunrise, a band of train enthusiasts, Transport for London (TfL) staff and journalists gathered beneath the silhouette of Battersea Power Station.

In the time since the coal-powered site fully closed in 1983, only a handful of Tube stations have opened, and just one in the 21st Century.

So the excitement was palpable when the gates were pulled back just after 05:20 BST and the first punters streamed in to take the escalator below ground in SW8.

Nathan James was among them. He described the early-morning gathering as "exciting". He said: "It's a weird passion for trains, I can't lie."

"It was surreal seeing so many people with the same passion for trains on one train. I'm glad I came out for this.

"I didn't expect such a big turnout, though. I'm overwhelmed. I'm quite impressed with the design."

Neal Dodge has worked for TfL on the project for the past three years and decided to create his own posters to mark the occasion.

He said: "This is a a day we've been waiting for for a very long time."

His poster is an adaption of the 1932 version designed by Edward McKnight Kauffer for the Arnos Grove extension of the Piccadilly line.

Jeziah Toney only fully qualified as a Tube driver in June and drove the second train to depart the newly opened station. He said he couldn't believe his eyes when he came down the escalator.

"We had so many customers on board... and seeing everybody waving as I came in was absolutely amazing."

"For me this is really a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Mr Toney added. "I'm just so happy that I was able to be part of this."

Jonty Levine described the opening journey - two stops to Kennington - as "historic".

He said: "There are many trains but only one first. It has a significance in that respect, plus most of the people here are train enthusiasts so there's that appeal to it as well - as a sort of meet-up."

The first stop showcased Nine Elms - a second freshly constructed Tube station - to bring the south London station tally above 30.

Work on the project stopped for 64 days during the first lockdown last March when the country came to a standstill. The stations were originally due to open last year.