The History Of Docklands Light Railway(DLR)

[Kelvin]

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

Tower Gateway Station: First Original Link to Central London

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 view from Tower Gateway looking east prior to rebuilding shows Fenchurch Street approach tracks to the left, the original DLR line in the centre, and just visible in the distance is a DLR train emerging from the tunnel to Bank to the right

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 through a tunnel to Bank underground station, 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.

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. 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 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, the line would drop into tunnel, tracing the route of the viaduct to Island Gardens, a just-below-surface station reached by a staircase. Crossing the Thames, the line would have a station in the centre of Greenwich, thereafter rising to the surface in deep tunnel and then cut-and-cover to a stop at the main-line Greenwich station, the southbound DLR track offering convenient 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. With its opening the DLR took its first steps from being a local people-mover to a truly important backbone of the east/south-east London transport system.

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. Further extension to Woolwich, already shown on London tube maps, to be built at or close to the future stop on the Crossrail line to Abbey Wood via West India and Royal Docks, will contribute to this growth.


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)

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.

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.


Map

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 have 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.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LIST OF ALL DLR STATIONS

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 — 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 and Stratford, where the DLR platforms are within the barrier lines of a London Underground or National Rail station.

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



Accidents and incidents

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 traveling automatically, operating without a driver, while the other was under manual control.


South Quay bombing

On 9 February 1996, the Provisional Irish Republican Army exploded 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.

B2K Stock Car 96

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



Recent developments

New platforms at Stratford

    Status - Opened

New Platforms at Stratford Station
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 opened 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 will extend 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, is being met by Private Finance Initiative funding. Construction began in June 2005, and the tunnels were completed on 23 July 2007


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 Bank - Lewisham route to 3-car trains

Status - Under Construction

The section between Bank and Lewisham is being upgraded 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 much of this section dates from the initial system built for single-car operation, the work involves both strengthening viaducts to support the additional weight of the longer trains and lengthening platforms at most stations.

The exceptions are:

    * South Quay station, which is being replaced by a new station 200m to the east, as nearby curves preclude lengthening.

    * Canary Wharf, Heron Quays, Island Gardens and Bank are already able to accommodate 3-car trains.

    * The below-ground Cutty Sark station will not be extended, due to the cost and the risk to nearby historic buildings. Use of Selective Door Operation (SDO) has been approved by the Railway Inspectorate instead.

Mudchute will gain a third platform, with all the platforms gaining a full-length canopy.
The £200m works contract was awarded on 3 May 2007. Work started in 2007 and is due to be complete in late 2009. Following some signalling work at Bank, 3-car trains should be running early in 2010.



Other stations affected

Two stations not on the Bank – Lewisham route are included in the plans so as to improve operational flexibility. Poplar station has already been lengthened in advance of the work elsewhere to confirm that the proposed method of construction is satisfactory. To enable use by 3-car trains Tower Gateway is closed until February 2009 to be converted from its current two-track terminal layout to a single line with two platforms, the southern one for boarding passengers, the northern for alighting.


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.

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 other lines to 3-car trains

Status - Under Construction

When work to allow 3-car trains between Bank and Lewisham is complete, and the only two parts of the network unable to take 3-car trains are Poplar to Stratford and Poplar to Beckton. Approval has been given for upgrading those two sections between 2008 and 2010 and for further grade-separation at Delta Junction north of West India Quay to eliminate the conflict between services to Stratford and from Bank. This will permit possible new services from Beckton and Woolwich to terminate at Canary Wharf or Lewisham, but southbound services from Bank will be unable to stop at West India Quay due to the removal of the outer platform.

Work has been proceeding with this project concurrently with the original upgrade work and all the work involved is generally now treated as one combined project.

TfL has stated that due to lack of committed funding the Beckton branch will not be upgraded to 3-car operation at the moment



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 is due for completion by the end of 2008.

DLR EMU Crossing West India Dock

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.



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 proposed for opening by 2015.


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.



Long term proposals

Dagenham Dock extension

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 wasn't expected to start until 2013 and the earliest expected completion date was to be 2017. However the credit crunch has meant that TfL have requested a delay to the public enquiry whilst funding is clarified. Given that the purpose of the extension is to serve as yet unbuilt homes it would seem that it is now very difficult to predict timescales for this project.



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 confirmed that the extension will carry on to Victoria station.

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 City Thameslink 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 impede this possible extension and it would prove costly to redevelop.

Contact Details:

DLR Homepage
Customer Services
Serco Docklands
Castor Lane
London
E14 ODS
tel: 020 7363 9700
fax: 020 7363 9532
Textphone: 020 7093 0999
e-mail: cservice@dlr.co.uk
Ceefax page 436, Teletext page 164

Source: Wikipedia