Docklands Light Railway

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is a light rail system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of East London, England.

General description
It opened on 31 August 1987 and, after extensions, reaches north to Stratford, south to Lewisham, west to Tower Gateway and Bank in the City of London financial district, and east to Beckton, London City Airport and Woolwich. DLR track and trains are not compatible with those of London Underground (although the track gauge is the same), but the two systems share a ticketing system, have several interchange stations, and the DLR is shown on the London Underground Tube map.

The trains are computer-controlled and normally have no driver: a Passenger Service Agent (PSA) (known when the system first opened as "Train Captain") on each train is responsible for patrolling the train, checking tickets, making announcements and controlling the doors. PSAs can also take control of the train in certain circumstances including equipment failure and emergencies. Stations are generally unstaffed except those below ground, which are required to be staffed in case evacuation is needed.

The DLR has been operated and maintained by a franchisee since 1997. The current franchise, due to expire in April 2013, is held by Serco Docklands Ltd, a company formed jointly by Serco Group and the former DLR management team.

The DLR system has 40 stations and is expanding. In 2006 it carried over 60 million passengers.

History
The docks east of London began to decline in the early 1960s as shipping cargo became containerised. The opening of the Tilbury container docks, further east in Essex, rendered the old docks redundant and in 1980 control of them passed to the British government.

The Jubilee Line of the London Underground opened in 1979 from Stanmore to Charing Cross, intended as the first stage of a cross-town tube line beyond Charing Cross to south-east London.

Although land, for example at Ludgate Circus and Lewisham, had been reserved for the second stage, the rising cost led in the early 1980s to the project's indefinite postponement.

The London Docklands Development Corporation, needing to provide public transport cheaply for the former docks area to stimulate regeneration, chose a light-rail scheme using surviving docks railway infrastructure to link the West India Docks to Tower Hill and to a northern terminus; for which Stratford station, using a track alongside the Great Eastern lines out of London, was preferred over Mile End, where the need for tram-like street-running was at variance with the plan to have a fully automated railway. At Stratford a disused bay platform at the west of the station was available, with interchange to the Central Line and main lines. The growth brought to Docklands later enabled the Jubilee Line to be extended in 1999 to East London by a more southerly route than originally proposed, through Surrey Quays/Docks, Canary Wharf and the Greenwich peninsula (which was the next regeneration area) to Stratford.

The initial system from Tower Gateway and from Stratford to Island Gardens, costing £77 million, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

Initial system
The initial system was constructed by Balfour Beatty between 1985 and 1987.

As originally conceived, the system was to be entirely above ground and comprise three branches, with their termini at Tower Gateway, Stratford and Island Gardens. Most of the track was elevated, either on new lightweight concrete viaducts or on disused railway viaducts, with some use of disused surface-level railway right of way.

The system was lightweight, with stations and trains only a single articulated vehicle long. The three branches together totalled 8 miles (13 km), with 13 stations, and were connected by a flat triangular junction near Poplar. Services ran Tower Gateway-Island Gardens and Stratford-Island Gardens, meaning that the north side of the junction was not used in regular passenger service.

The stations on the initial system were mostly to a common design and were constructed out of a standard set of parts. The principal distinguishing feature of the stations was a relatively short half-cylindrical glazed blue canopy to provide shelter from the rain.

First extensions


The initial system proved to have insufficient capacity as the Docklands area developed into a major financial centre and employment zone. Tower Gateway terminus, at the edge of the City of London, attracted criticism for its poor connections.

In response to this, all stations and trains were extended to two-unit lengths, and the system was extended into the heart of the City of London to Bank underground station, through a tunnel which opened in 1991. This extension diverged from the initial western branch, leaving Tower Gateway station on a limb. It also rendered the initial car fleet obsolete, as its construction was not suitable for use underground (see the Rolling Stock section below, and the main article Docklands Light Railway rolling stock).

At the same time, the areas in the east of Docklands needed better transport connections to encourage development. This resulted in a fourth branch being constructed, from Poplar via Canning Town transport interchange to Beckton, running along the north side of the Royal Docks complex. Early designs showed several options through the Blackwall Area. As part of this extension, one side of the original flat triangular junction was replaced with a grade-separated junction west of Poplar, and a new grade-separated junction was created at the divergence of the Stratford and Beckton lines east of Poplar. Poplar station was rebuilt to provide cross-platform interchange between the Stratford and Beckton lines.

The growth of the Canary Wharf office complex required the redevelopment of Canary Wharf DLR station from a small wayside station to a large complex with six platforms serving three tracks, beneath a large overall roof and fully integrated into the malls below the office towers. The original DLR station was never completed and was dismantled before the line officially opened, although the automatically-operated trains continued to stop at this location.

Second stage extensions
Early in the days of the DLR's operation, the London Borough of Lewisham commissioned a feasibility study of extending the DLR under the Thames to Lewisham. The outcome of the study led it to push the case for an extension to Greenwich, Deptford and Lewisham.

The line was planned to leave the original Island Gardens route south of the Crossharbour turn-back sidings, dropping gently to Mudchute, a street-level station replacing the high-level Mudchute on the former London & Blackwall viaduct. Immediately after this, the line would drop into a tunnel, tracing the route of the viaduct to a new just-below-surface station at Island Gardens, reached by a staircase. Crossing the Thames, the line would have a station in the centre of Greenwich, thereafter rising to the surface to a stop at the main-line Greenwich station, the southbound DLR track offering cross-platform interchange with the city-bound main line. From here, the line would snake across concrete viaducts to Deptford, Elverson Road (at street level on a road close to Lewisham town centre), terminating in two platforms between and below the main-line platforms at Lewisham, within walking distance of the town shopping centre, with bus services stopping directly outside the station.

The Lewisham extension, authorised as above, opened in 1999.

On 2 December 2005, a new eastward branch, running along the southern side of the Royal Docks complex, opened from Canning Town to King George V via London City Airport. A further extension to Woolwich was opened in January 2009, built at or close to the future stop on the Crossrail line to Abbey Wood via West India and Royal Docks.

Current system


The DLR is now 19 miles (31 km) long. There are five branches: to Lewisham in the south, Stratford in the north, Beckton and Woolwich Arsenal in the east, and to Central London, splitting to serve Bank and Tower Gateway. Although the system allows many different combinations of routes, at present the following four are operated in normal service:


 * Stratford to Lewisham
 * Bank to Lewisham
 * Bank to Woolwich Arsenal
 * Tower Gateway to Beckton (curtailed to Canning Town during Tower Gateway's rebuilding but reopened back to Tower Gateway on 2 March 2009)
 * Canning Town to Prince Regent, an extra shuttle service operated when exhibitions are in progress at the Excel exhibition centre, to double the normal service. These trains reverse direction in the eastbound platform at Canning Town and on a crossover at the high point where the line crosses the Connaught Crossing road bridge between Prince Regent and Royal Albert stations.

At other stations trains reverse direction in the terminal platforms, except at Bank where there is a reversing headshunt beyond the station.

Trains during the peak on the Stratford line turn back at Crossharbour rather than continuing to Lewisham. There are also occasional trains from Tower Gateway to Crossharbour and Lewisham. Every train serves every station on its route.

During the substantial long-term enhancement works currently being conducted for a variety of DLR extension projects a range of other routes may be operated at weekends, such as Beckton to Lewisham (if the Bank branch is closed).

The northern and southern branches terminate at the National Rail (main line) stations at Stratford and Lewisham. Other direct interchanges between the DLR and National Rail are at Limehouse and Greenwich.

Depots
There are two operating depots, at Poplar and Beckton, both with maintenance workshops and extensive open-air stabling sidings. The Poplar depot is alongside the north side of the Stratford line east of the station, while the Beckton depot is to the east of the line on a long spur north-east of Gallions Reach station, and is only visible in the distance from the line. Trains leaving service into the depots form short workings to Poplar or Gallions Reach. The small diesel locomotives used for track maintenance tasks are normally visible at Poplar depot.

Stations
Many DLR stations are elevated, with others at street level, in a cutting, or underground. Access to the platforms is normally by staircase and lift, very few stations having escalators. From the outset the network has been fully accessible to wheelchairs. The stations have high platforms, matching the floor height of the cars, allowing easy access for passengers with wheelchairs or pushchairs.

Most of the stations are of a modular design dating back to the initial system, albeit extended and improved over the years. This design has two side platforms, each with separate access from the street, and platform canopies with a distinctive rounded roof design. Stations are unstaffed, except the underground stations at Bank, Island Gardens and Cutty Sark (for safety reasons), and a few of the busier interchange stations. Canning Town, interchange with the Jubilee underground line, along with the exhibition centre stations at Custom House and Prince Regent, are normally staffed on the platform whenever there is any significant exhibition at the Excel exhibition centre.

See List of Docklands Light Railway stations.

DLR art
On 3 July 2007, DLR officially launched their own art programme similar to that in place on the London Underground, Platform for Art. Alan Williams was appointed to produce the first temporary commission. Called "sidetrack", it portrays the ordinary and extraordinary sights, often unfamiliar to passengers, on the system and was displayed throughout the network.

Fares and ticketing
Ticketing is part of the London fare zone system, and Travelcards that cover the correct zones are valid.

There are one-day and season DLR-only "Rover" tickets available, plus a one-day DLR "Rail and River Rover" ticket for use on the DLR and on City Cruises river boats. Oyster Pre-Pay is also available &mdash; passengers need to both touch in and touch out on the platform readers or pass through the automatic gates.

Tickets must be purchased from ticket machines at the entrance to the platforms, and are required before the passenger enters the platform. There are no ticket barriers in DLR-only stations, and correct ticketing is enforced by on-train checks by the PSA. There are barriers at Bank, Canning Town, Woolwich Arsenal and Stratford, where the DLR platforms are within the barrier lines of a London Underground or National Rail station.

Although Oyster cards are TfL's preferred method of ticketing on the DLR, there are some differences in the implementation compared to the Underground. Stations are simplistic and most do not have ticket gates. There have been criticisms that the Oyster touch in/out units are not readily apparent, particularly to casual users, as they have been sited where there is an electrical supply, which may not be the most obvious point for users. London City Airport station, which is used by many travellers from overseas, is a particular location in this respect. Passengers who do not both touch in and out on each journey are automatically surcharged £4 for any incomplete entries on their Oyster card.

The ticket machines provided at each DLR station also do not either sell new Oyster cards or allow top-up of existing cards, which means passengers can have no means to put any value on their cards before starting their journey. The Oyster validators at the entrance to the platforms have also been criticised as their display is unshielded and some face into direct sunight which makes their display of remaining fare value unreadable on bright days.

The DLR is used by up to a hundred thousand people daily, with around 60 million journeys yearly.

Overrun of station buffers
On 10 March 1987, before the railway opened, a train crashed through station buffer stops at the original high-level terminus Island Gardens station and was left hanging from the end of the elevated track. The accident was caused by unauthorised tests being run before accident-preventing modifications had been installed. The train was being driven manually at the time.

Service difficulties with the Royal train
In July 1987, a series of minor incidents marred the operation of the royal train (number E2R) carrying Queen Elizabeth II as part of the ceremonies marking the opening of the line. The train had been manually dispatched from its starting point at Island Gardens station five minutes early because of the early arrival of the royal party. The train was on automatic control and so, being ahead of schedule, was held at the next station (Mudchute) for a few minutes before the driver reverted to manual control "to speed the Royal passage" and continued on to Poplar station, where the royal party were to disembark. A member of the royal security detail used the emergency exit to leave the train before it had stopped, causing the train to make an emergency stop short of its normal position and out of range of the docking beacon that marked its arrival point. The train doors would not open, impeding the Queen's exit for several minutes.

Collision at West India Quay bridge
On 22 April 1991, two trains collided at a junction on the West India Quay bridge during morning rush hour, requiring a shutdown of the entire system and evacuation of the involved passengers by ladder. One of the two trains was travelling automatically, operating without a driver, while the other was under manual control.

South Quay bombing
On 9 February 1996, the Provisional Irish Republican Army blew up a lorry under a bridge near South Quay, killing two people and injuring many others. This number would have been higher if not for advance warning. The blast did £85 million damage and marked an end to the IRA ceasefire. Significant disruption was caused to DLR services, and a train was left stranded at Island Gardens station, unable to move until the track was rebuilt.

Rolling stock


The DLR is operated by high-floor, bi-directional, single-articulated cars with four doors on each side, each train consisting of two cars. The cars have a small driver’s console concealed behind a locked panel at each car end from which the PSA can drive the car, and no driver’s cab. Consoles at each door opening allow the PSA to control door closure and make announcements whilst patrolling the train. Because of the absence of a driver’s position, the fully-glazed car ends provide an unusual forward (or rear) view for passengers. The current stock has a top speed of 80 km/h (50mph).

Despite having high floors and being highly automated, the cars are derived from a German light-rail design intended for use in systems with street running. All the cars that have operated on the system to date look similar, but there have been several different types, some still in service and others sold to other operators.

Signalling technology
Originally the DLR used signalling based on a fixed-block technology developed by GEC-General Signal and General Railway Signal. This was replaced in 1994 with a moving-block system developed by Alcatel, called SelTrac. The SelTrac system was bought by Thales in 2007 and current updates are being provided by Thales Signalling Solutions. The same technology is used for some other rapid transit systems, including Vancouver's SkyTrain,Toronto's SRT, San Francisco's Municipal Railway (MUNI) and Hong Kong's MTR. Transmissions occur between each train's onboard computer and the control centre at Poplar. If this link is broken, the train stops until it is authorised to move again. If the whole system fails the train can run at only 20 km/h for safety until the system is restored. Emergency brakes can be applied if the train breaks the speed limit during manual control, or if the train leaves the station when the route has not been set.

New platforms at Stratford

 * Status - Opened

The DLR originally had only one narrow two-car platform at Stratford, which limited capacity and hindered interchange with other services at the station. This closed on 15 June 2007 and has been replaced by two new three-car platforms: the first new platform opened on 18 June 2007 and the second on 9 December 2007.

Langdon Park station

 * Status - Opened

A station at Langdon Park between All Saints and Devons Road stations opened on 9 December 2007.

Woolwich Arsenal extension

 * Status - Opened 10 January 2009

This extended the London City Airport branch from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal and opened on 10 January 2009. The projected cost of £150 million, due to a required second DLR tunnel crossing of the River Thames, was met by Private Finance Initiative funding. Construction began in June 2005, and the tunnels were completed on 23 July 2007, with official opening by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London on 12 January 2009.

Tower Gateway rebuilding
The original Tower Gateway station was closed in mid-2008 for complete reconstruction. The two terminal tracks either side of a somewhat narrow island platform were replaced by a single track between two platforms, organised one for arriving passengers and the other side for those departing. The station reopened on 2 March 2009.

Future developments
With the development of the eastern Docklands as part of the ‘Thames Gateway’ initiative and London’s successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, several extensions and enhancements are under construction, being planned or being discussed.

Upgrading Entire System to 3-car trains

 * Status - Under construction

A programme is being implemented to upgrade the entire system to allow operation of 3-car trains to increase capacity. More frequent trains were considered as an alternative, but it was found that the necessary signalling changes would be as expensive as upgrading to handle longer trains with fewer benefits.

As the original railway was built for single-car operation, the work involves both strengthening viaducts to support the additional weight of the longer trains and lengthening platforms at many stations although recent extensions have been built to accommodate three-car trains.

By the end of the work most stations will be able to fully accommodate three-car trains although at a few stations not all doors will open and Selective Door Operation will be used. However even at these stations there will be emergency walkways in case a door fails to remain shut. The most notable restriction will be at the below-ground Cutty Sark station which will not be extended, due to the cost and the risk to nearby historic buildings. The tunnel involved already has the necessary emergency walkway in place throughout its entire length.

Many stations are having more work done than strictly necessary just to accommodate the three-car trains. Typical additional work involves replacement of the canopies with more substantial ones along the entire platform length. South Quay station is being replaced by a new station 200m to the east, as nearby curves preclude lengthening. Mudchute has gained a third platform (not yet in use), with all the platforms now having a full-length canopy. To enable use by 3-car trains Tower Gateway was closed until March 2009. It re-opened as a single track terminus with two platforms - one for alighting and one for boarding.

The works were originally planned as three separate phases: Bank-Lewisham; Poplar-Stratford and finally the Beckton branch. The original £200m works contract was awarded on 3 May 2007. Work started in 2007 and the Bank-Lewisham phase was originally due to be completed in 2009. However, the work programme for the first two phases was merged and both are now due to be complete in early 2010. Funding to upgrade the Beckton branch was not secured until December 2008, and the work will not be completed until 2011.

Stratford International extension / North London Line conversion

 * Status - Under Construction - opening July 2010

An extension is being built from Canning Town to the new Stratford International station. This takes over part of the North London Line infrastructure and will link the Docklands area with domestic and international high-speed services on High Speed 1. It is projected to open early in 2010 and is an important part of the transport improvement package for the 2012 Olympic Games, which will largely be held on a site adjoining Stratford International. Passengers who originally took the North London line towards North Woolwich will be able to change at Stratford to the extension and get to North Woolwich via the London City Airport branch.

Four new stations will be built: Star Lane (formerly Cody Road), Abbey Road, Stratford High Street (formerly Stratford Market) and Stratford International, as well as serving West Ham and Stratford. All stations will accommodate 3-car trains. An important part of the project is to build new platforms at Stratford for the North London Line so that the site of the current platforms (1 and 2) is available for the new DLR platforms.

As part of the Transport & Works Act (TWA) application, Royal Victoria station on the Beckton branch will be extended to accommodate 3-car trains, with a third platform to enable trains to reverse there, using land released by the closure of this section of the parallel North London line.

A substantial, partly grade-separated, junction is being built south of Canning Town which will allow simultaneous movements from the existing Bank direction and the new Stratford direction to/from both the Beckton and the Woolwich Arsenal routes.

A downside of the new arrangements will be that passengers arriving at Canning Town by Jubilee Line who wish to continue by DLR to either of the Beckton line or the City Airport/Woolwich line (normally the bulk of the DLR passengers east of this point have changed from the Jubilee Line) will be uncertain which platform to go to for the next DLR train, as trains for both branches will leave alternately from different, widely-separated platforms. The first contract for construction work was awarded on 10 January 2007 and construction work started in mid 2007. The extension is due to open in mid 2010.

Upgrading Delta Junction

 * ''Status - Under Construction

As part of upgrading the system for three-car trains some strengthening work would have been necessary in any case to the Delta Junction north of West India Quay. It was decided to include this into a plan for further grade-separation at this critical junction to eliminate the conflict between services to Stratford and from Bank, which will increase the number of trains able to traverse the junction. The new grade-separated route from Bank to Canary Wharf will only be used at peak times, as it bypasses West India Quay station.

Work has been proceeding with this project concurrently with the three-car upgrade work and should be open by summer of 2009.

Limehouse station interchange

 * Status - Under construction

Limehouse station currently has an awkward interchange between the DLR platforms and the National Rail platforms served by c2c, as passengers have to pass up and down flights of stairs. To remedy this a bridge is being built to connect to two lines and was due for completion by the end of 2008.

Works contingent on Crossrail

 * Status - Approved

When Crossrail is built, one of its tunnel portals will be on the current site of Pudding Mill Lane station. The DLR will be diverted between City Mill River and the River Lea onto a new viaduct to be built further south, including a replacement station. The opportunity may be taken to eliminate the only significant section of single track on the system, between Bow Church and Stratford, although there is no provision for works beyond the realigned section in the Crossrail Act.

Crossrail will interchange with the DLR at Custom House, at Stratford and at West India Quay with Crossrail's Isle of Dogs station. Custom House station will be completely rebuilt. If a Crossrail station is built in the City Airport area, a new DLR station could be built alongside (see Connaught Road/Silvertown Interchange station section below).

Dagenham Dock extension

 * Status - Postponed indefinitely (as of November 2008)

This proposed extension from Gallions Reach to Dagenham Dock via the riverside at Barking would connect the Barking Reach area, a formerly industrial area now due to be a major redevelopment as part of the London Riverside, with the Docklands. It would cover major developments at Creekmouth, Barking Riverside, Dagenham Dock Opportunity Area, and five stations are planned, at Beckton Riverside station, Creekmouth, Barking Riverside, Goresbrook (formerly Dagenham Vale) and Dagenham Dock. The extension is key if English Partnerships' plan is to work. As shown in DLR's first consultation leaflet, there are proposals for the DLR to extend further than Dagenham Dock, possibly to Dagenham Heathway or Rainham.

Construction was not expected to start until 2013 and the earliest expected completion date was 2017. However the Financial crisis of 2007–2009 meant that TfL requested a delay to the public enquiry whilst funding was clarified. Given that the purpose of the extension was to serve as-yet unbuilt homes it became very difficult to predict timescales for this project.

Thames Wharf station

 * Status - Proposed

This station had been included as potential future development on the London City Airport extension since it was first planned. It would be between Canning Town and West Silvertown, due west of the western end of Royal Victoria Dock. Since the station's intended purpose is to serve the surrounding area (currently a mix of brownfield and run-down industrial sites) when it is regenerated, the development is indefinitely on hold due to the area being safeguarded for the Silvertown Link, a new Thames river crossing that has been proposed but currently has no timetable for implementation.

Connaught Road / Silvertown Interchange station

 * Status - Proposed

A site near to London City Airport has been identified as a possible additional station on the London City Airport extension. It would be a possible interchange with Crossrail between London City Airport and Pontoon Dock. However, no plans have emerged as to when this station is to be planned and built. The original extension was designed to allow a station to be built here. It may be located south of the Connaught Crossing

Victoria/Charing Cross extension

 * Status - Proposed - 2026

In February 2006 a proposal to extend the DLR to Charing Cross station from Bank DLR branch was revealed. The idea, originating from a DLR "Horizon Study", is at a very early stage at the moment, but would involve extending the line from Bank in bored tunnels under Central London to the Charing Cross Jubilee line platforms, which would be brought back to public use. These platforms are now on a spur off the current Jubilee line and are not used by passenger trains. It has since been revealed that a proposed route as far as Victoria station will be investigated.

While not confirmed it is probable that the scheme would also use the existing overrun tunnels between the Charing Cross Jubilee platforms and a location slightly to the west of Aldwych. These tunnels were intended to be incorporated into the abandoned Phase 2 of the Fleet Line (Phase 1 became the original Jubilee Line, prior to the Jubilee Line Extension). However they would need some enlargement because DLR gauge is larger than tube gauge and current safety regulations would require an emergency walkway to be provided in the tunnel.

The two reasons driving the proposal are capacity problems at Bank, having basically one interchange between the DLR and the central portion of Underground, and the difficult journeys faced by passengers from Kent and South Coast between their rail termini and the DLR. Intermediate stations would be at Ludgate Circus and Aldwych, for future connection with the Cross River Tram.

Euston/King's Cross extension

 * Status - Proposed

During the last Horizon study, a possible extension was considered from Bank towards Euston or King's Cross. The main benefit of this extension will be tapping into an area that doesn't have a direct link to the Canary Wharf site, either existing or proposed. This would create a new artery in central London and help relieve the Northern and Circle lines. There are no official plans for possible stations except towards Farringdon, possibly using some of the soon-to-be-disused Thameslink infrastructure.

Lewisham to Catford extension

 * Status - Proposed - 2026

This extension was looked at during the latest Horizon Study. The route would follow the Southeastern line and terminate between Catford station and Catford Bridge station. However early plans showed problems due to Lewisham DLR station being only marginally higher than the busy A20 road which impedes any proposed extension. The plan is however being revised. When the Lewisham extension was first completed there were proposals to continue further to Beckenham to link it up with the Tramlink system. However, the way in which Lewisham DLR was built impedes this possible extension and it would prove costly to redevelop.