The London Underground is the oldest transport system of its kind in the world. It opened way back in 1863, when steam locomotives descended below ground to cut the time of travelling across the city and to offer Londoners a faster alternative to the busy streets.
Its first electrified underground line opened in 1890, transforming the way public transport was viewed and laying the groundwork for the world to follow.
Because it’s so old, and because it’s underground, it’s extremely difficult to make changes to the existing infrastructure, though in recent years Transport for London (TfL) successfully embarked on adding extra stops on the historic Northern Line.
However, when one of these stops finally opened, railway enthusiasts and Londoners alike were left utterly confused.
The £1billion extension runs from Kennington on the Charing Cross branch and took planners some 10 years to fully complete it.
Two new stops were added, Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms.
The former has been built on the former site of the functional Grade listed power station of the same name, itself recently renovated.
The name, then, stirred a lot of confusion, with many people taking to X, formerly Twitter, to voice their bewilderment.
“Can’t stop thinking about how the new Battersea Power station is the only station with the word station in the name. Battersea Power Station Station??” wrote one person.
“The station is built at the site of decommissioned coal-fired power station, so is it called Battersea Power station or Battersea Power Station…station? Battersea Power station Tube?”
Another said: “If I were in charge of the whole thing, I’d have just called it Battersea. Makes so much more sense.”
When people turned to the TfL’s official tube maps website, they were left even more confused.
Many found that at some stations, like Tooting Broadway, the new station was named, ‘Power Station Battersea’.
Youtuber Geoff Marshall, who spotted the odd name, wrote on X: “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry”.
Travelling to other nearby tube stations, he found that they all called the new stop, ‘Battersea Power station’, adding even more to the general confusion.
In a further twist, the TfL’s official X account posted: “Retweet for Battersea Power Station, Like for Battersea Power Station station.”
Both stations have been successful since they opened in 2021, and now run multiple services each day.
Journey times have been drastically cut for those living in Battersea and Nine Elms, with people able to reach central London in just 15 minutes from the former.
