Docklands Light Railway

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The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is a light rail public transport system for the redeveloped Docklands area of eastern London. It is administered by Transport for London but operated by Serco; it is not part of the London Underground, but it does appear on the Tube map. The system was conceived in the late 1980s by the London Docklands Development Corporation to aid the regeneration of the docks of East London, which had been derelict since the 1960s. Most of the tracks are elevated; some of them were built on disused freight lines. The system was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 31 July 1987.

The type of train used is a multiple unit that is driven fully automatically: there is no driver. However, there is a Passenger Service Agent (previously known as a Train Captain) on all trains who acts as a guard, controlling the doors, making announcements and checking tickets. In certain circumstances, such as in severe winds, they control train speed.

The fares are comparable to those for the Tube, although return fares on the Docklands Light Railway are priced at twice the single fare. There are no limited-stop trains on the DLR, so each train serves every stop along its route.

Map

Geographically accurate map of the Docklands Light Railway (Large)

Branches

Tower Gateway DLR station

Four branches currently exist: to Lewisham in the south, Stratford in the north, Beckton in the east and another leading into Central London (splitting to serve two nearby termini, Bank and Tower Gateway).

The western branch was initially planned to terminate only at Tower Gateway, as it was much cheaper to run the line only until there rather than joining it up with the London Underground network. However, the overground connection between Tower Hill tube station and Tower Gateway DLR proved unpopular and a tunnelled extension to Bank station was constructed to provide a direct link with the Tube.

The northern and southern branches terminate at the National Rail (mainline) stations at Stratford and Lewisham respectively. Other direct interchanges between National Rail and the DLR are at Limehouse, Canning Town and Greenwich.

Extensions

With the rapid development of the eastern Docklands as part of the "Thames Gateway" initiative, no fewer than four extensions are either under construction or being planned.

• A new eastbound branch from Canning Town to North Woolwich, which will serve London City Airport, is under construction. This will run along the southern side of the King George V Dock (the Beckton branch runs along the north side). The extension is projected to open in late 2005.

Docklands Light Railway train entering Canary Wharf station from the east

• A further extension from North Woolwich to Woolwich Arsenal, requiring a second DLR tunnel under the River Thames. Approval and funding for this latter extension was given by the Government on 26 February 2004, with the projected cost of £150 million expected to be met through the Private Finance Initiative. Construction is projected to begin in 2005.

• An extension from Canning Town to the new Stratford International station, linking the Docklands with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Four new stations will be built at Cody Road, Abbey Road, Stratford Market and Stratford International, with a possible fifth station between Cody Road and Canning Town under consideration. The extension will largely run over existing track currently operated by the North London Line, which would in future terminate at Stratford. The extension is projected to open in 2008 at the earliest.

• An extension from Gallions Reach to Dagenham Dock via the riverside at Barking. This would connect the Barking Reach area, a formerly industrial area now undergoing major redevelopment, with the Docklands. The extension would open in 2011 at the earliest.

Current projections for the trans-London Crossrail line entail interchanges with the DLR at Custom House and Stratford.

Rolling Stock

The original fleet for the 1987 opening consisted of eleven LRVs built in 1986 by LHB in Germany. These were referred to as P86 stock, with P referring to Poplar depot, where they were primarily maintained. The P86 cars were numbered 01 to 11. They could not operate the extension to Bank and adaptation to a new signalling system was deemed too costly, resulting in the sale of the vehicles in 1991. They passed to Essener Verkehrs-AG of Essen, Germany, where they were extensively rebuilt and put into service between 1994 and 1998.

In 1989, BREL supplied another ten LRVs, numbered 12 to 21. These were designated P89 stock and remained in operation on the DLR until the middle of the 1990s. They were subsequently sold to Essener Verkehrs-AG of Essen, Germany, where they entered service between 1999 and 2004 after major modifications had been carried out.

Further vehicles were required as the network continued to grow and as the original P86 and P89 cars had to be replaced due to their unsuitability to the changed system conditions. Bombardier built 23 vehicles of B90 stock in 1991, 47 vehicles of B92 stock between 1993 and 1995 and 24 vehicles of B2K stock in 2001 and 2002. The B in the type codes refers to Beckton depot, where they are primarily maintained. They are of a common design and can be operated interchangably in trains of two. All of them remain in service at the time of writing (2004).

The current DLR fleet (at the end of 2004) thus consists of:

• 22-44: Bombardier B90, built 1991
• 45-91: Bombardier B92, built 1993-1995
• 92-99, 01-16: Bombardier B2K, built 2001-2002

All DLR cars carried a common livery of red, blue and white upon delivery. Over the years, several vehicles have carried allover advertising liveries, while a new livery of turquoise and blue was trialled on B92 car 45 in the mid-1990s. This was not adpoted and the car reverted to standard livery a few years later. Refurbishment of the B90 cars started in 2004, with the completed trains re-entering service in a new livery of red and blue with white doors.

Bombardier Transportation EMU stands at Tower Gateway DLR station

Main services

• Bank to Lewisham
• Stratford to Lewisham
• Tower Gateway to Beckton

Stations

West to East branches

• Terminus: Bank for Central London
• Terminus: Tower Gateway for The Tower of London
• Shadwell (the branches to Tower Gateway and Bank diverge west of Shadwell)
• Limehouse
• Westferry
• Poplar
• Blackwall
• East India
• Canning Town
• Royal Victoria
• Custom House
• Prince Regent
• Royal Albert
• Beckton Park
• Cyprus
• Gallions Reach
• Terminus: Beckton

North to South branches

• Terminus: Stratford
• Pudding Mill Lane
• Bow Church
• Devons Road
• All Saints
• Poplar (see above)
• West India Quay
• Canary Wharf
• Heron Quays
• South Quay
• Crossharbour and London Arena
• Mudchute
• Island Gardens
• Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich
• Greenwich
• Deptford Bridge
• Elverson Road
• Terminus: Lewisham

External links

• Docklands Light Railway website

See also

• Rail transport in the United Kingdom
• UK topics

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