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Docklands Light Railway

  • Docklands Light Railway homepage (includes route map and timetables)
  • Planning and building
  • Bank extension
  • The upgrading contract
  • The routes
  • The stations
  • The trains
  • Signalling and control
  • Depots
  • Lewisham Extension
  • Franchise

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    Planning and Building

         Work on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) began in 1984 with a route between Tower Gateway and Island Gardens. In 1985 it was decided to build a further line from Poplar to Stratford. The choice of a third rail system for power supply (the LDDC were opposed to overhead cables) and automatic operation influenced the decision to serve Stratford rather than Mile End as originally planned. The route to Mile End would mean on-street running which was not compatible with automatic control.

         A single contractor was chosen to design, build and equip the railway. This put the risk on the contractor and not the client. GEC/Mowlem Railway Group won the contract and had to have the railway running within three years. The system was to cost no more than £77 million.

         The original railway was planned to deal with a low number of passenger movements, but even before the railway opened upgrading work had begun to allow the railway to cope with larger numbers.

         Two-thirds of the original DLR used disused or under-used railways, however it was still necessary to establish relations with a great number of people before construction work could begin.
     

    Bank Extension

         The contract to extent the railway to Bank was awarded to E. Nuttall, before the original DLR network opened. A single 100-tonne tunnelling machine was used to bore 1.6 km of tunnel to Bank. The tunnels are wider than normal underground tunnels so that walkways could be built on one side of the track, these are used for maintenance and for evacuation in an emergency. The walkways are the same height as the trains so that wheelchair users can been evacuated.

         The tunnels continued past Bank station so that trains could switch lines and reverse down the other tunnel. Public operation began on 29th July 1991 using only the westbound tunnel, the second eastbound tunnel was brought into use on 29th November 1991.
     

    The Upgrading Contract

         At the same time as the Bank extension was awarded upgrading work began on the rest of the railway, so that it could handle more passengers. The work involved strengthening of some structures to allow two-unit trains, platform lengthening to handle these longer trains, buying more trains, remodelling the Poplar junction, and the rebuilding of Canary Wharf, West India Quay and Poplar stations.
     

    Routes

    The City Route

         The original terminus at Tower Gateway is close to the Town Hill Circle and District line underground station. The Bank terminus provides an interchange with the District, Circle, Northern, Central and Waterloo and City lines. Between Bank/Tower Gateway and Limehouse (interchange with LTS) the DLR tracks share the BR viaduct into Fenchurch Street station. The route then uses a viaduct built in 1839 for the cable-operated London and Blackwall Railway. The next station is Westferry.

    Island Gardens Route

         The first stop on the Isle of Dogs is West India Quay which has been rebuilt with four tracks to Canary Wharf. Canary Wharf station has 6 platforms to serve the large office development here. Two tracks run over the viaduct to Heron Quays station. The line then curves east to serve South Quay station and then south again to Crossharbour and Mudchute. The final part of the route to Island Gardens terminus uses a single track viaduct built in 1972 for a horse-drawn railway.

    Stratford Route

         Poplar is the first station on this route after leaving the Isle of Dogs. The line than curves north following the course of an old disused BR track with stations at All Saints, Devons Road and Bow Church. A single line then runs parallel with the BR lines to Stratford. A passing loop and station is at Pudding Lane before the Stratford terminus. A Stratford there is an interchange with the BR lines and the Central Line.

    Beckton Route

         The 5 mile extension eastwards through the Royal Docks was approved in 1989. At Poplar a new junction has been constructed to allow a service to run between Bank and Beckton. The first station is Blackwall followed by East India. The route then crosses the River Lee to Canning Town (for an interchange with the North London Line and the Jubilee extension). The line then follows the North London Line to Royal Victoria and Custom House (Interchange with the North London Line). From Prince Regent the route continues over the Connaught Crossing and runs between the two carriageways of the Royal Albert Dock Spine Road. Beckton Park and Cyprus stations are set at ground level underneath the roundabouts. After Cyprus the route continues over the Woolwich Manor Way to Gallions Reach. It then passes the depot and sidings built on the site of the Beckton Gasworks. The route curves west to the Beckton terminus.
     

    The Stations

         All the high level stations have lifts to give access to those unable to use the stairways. Passenger security is monitored by CCTV cameras on every platform. They are controlled and monitored from the main control centre at Poplar. Passenger alarms are sited on every platforms and when operated activate the CCTV so that the controller can see the victim, for an immediate response.

         LED displays on the platforms give the arrival time of the next trains. Each station has a PA system so that passengers can be given live or recorded information.

         Ticket machines are sited at all stations. Passengers are required to have a valid ticket before crossing the red line painted at all stations. Unlike underground stations the DLR stations do not have ticket barriers so the tickets are checked on the trains by the Train Captains.
     

    The Trains

         Only 11 trains were brought to run on the original railway. These trains, know as the P86 stock, were built by Linke Hofmann Busch in Germany. The trains are fully-automatic and do not have a driver, although a Train Captain on every trains is capable of driving the train in case of a fault. The driving console for the Train Captain is in the centre of the screen, locked when not in use. Two wheelchair bays are provided, but these are mainly used by shoppers with wheeled trolleys and baby buggies. In order to achieve good access for unassisted wheelchair users the cars have been designed to have a level car floor to platform gap maximum of only 75mm. This ruled out the use of exterior plug doors, instead inward-opening ('bat wing') swing plug doors. This was never ideal, but with the low predicted passenger levels it would do, though with the enormous upturn in custom to the Isle of Dogs a new design was needed.

         Ten more trains (P89 stock) were ordered in July 1987, contracted to GEC-Mowlem Railway Group, but built by BREL York. The P89 stock were very similar to the P86 stock except for a few technical changes. The P89 stock could operate in pairs and meet the British Railways Inspectorate requirements to operate in underground tunnels, to Bank. The P89 stock had dot matrix displays instead of hand operated blinds as on the P86 stock. The maximum speed of both types is 50 mph.

         The increase in passenger levels and the extension to Beckton meant that more stock was required. A contract was awarded to Bombardier in Belgium for 10 trains, subsequently increased to 21, then to 42 and finally to 70 new units. The order was spilt into two batches 23 units of B90 stock and 46 units of B92 stock. The B stock has externally mounted double siding doors to cope with the increased passenger levels. A single front opening door allows emergency access between coupled units. The electronic equipment is now located in a single interior cabinet, instead of several different positions. The B stock was designed to operate singly or coupled in pairs, but the B and P stock cannot be coupled together.

         The first-batch of stock - the P86 stock was an operational problem because they cannot be operated into the tunnel to Bank and cannot be coupled in pairs. Options included upgrading them, to scrap them or to sell them on to another buyer. In the end all eleven units were purchased by Essen Verkehre AG of Essen.

         The P89 stock was upgraded to replace the inward-folding doors with a single sliding door. The sliding door is housed in an internal door pocket.

         The DLR fleet now comprises:

    Signalling and Control

         The trains on the DLR are fully automatic, there are three computer systems which achieve this:      Automatic train operation (ATO) controls the acceleration and braking of the train, much like a driver would do on a normal railway. The system includes speed restriction for sharp curves and provides different speed profiles. The data for this is fed to the train via a data docking point (DDL) at every station.

         Automatic train protection (ATP) prevents two trains colliding. A constant electronic signal is sent to every train to indicate that it is safe to proceed. Should a train lose this signal the train stops. If a train over speeds the power to the motors will be cut and the emergency brakes applied.

         The automatic trains supervision (ATS) system controls the train service timetable. Train departures can be varied according to the need of the timetable. The system also runs the information displays and the public address systems on the station platforms.
     

    Depots

         When the DLR first opened it depot and headquarters were at Poplar. The depot had a three track workshop and a few sidings. The number of sidings at the depot has been doubled since it first opened to cope with the extra trains. New offices have also been built on the Poplar site. When the Beckton extension was built a new depot was built at Beckton.

         This depot is a big improvement on the Poplar depot which was only designed to handle 11 trains. The Beckton depot has been equipped to handle the 70-80 trains that they own now. The depot has wheel turning equipment so that damaged wheelsets do not need to be transported elsewhere to be repaired. The Poplar depot also houses the control room for monitoring the signalling, power supply and the CCTV monitors for the whole railway.
     

    Lewisham Extension

         The Docklands Light Railway extension to Lewisham was launched on 30 November 1996 as a flagship project under Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Lewisham Borough Council first came up with the scheme to link the then developing DLR to South London in 1985. London Transport approved the project in 1986/7, but the scheme was not passed until 1993, partly because DLR changed ownership from LRT to LDDC.

         A first prequalification competition in 1991 saw several major companies interested. Government funds were not available at the time, so the scheme was relaunched in 1993 as a PFI scheme. The extension will bring about 500,000 more people within 45 minutes of the Isle of Dogs. The journey time between Lewisham and Bank will be about 30 minutes. The M25, A2, A13 and the Blackwall Tunnel will be relieved of some traffic.

         The route diverges from the original north of Mudchute Station and will begin to drop into a cutting. The existing route using the old viaduct of the Blackwall Railway will be abandoned. A Mudchute station will be built at ground level. The station will include crossovers and a reversal siding. Cut and cover tunnels will be built through Millwall Park leading to a new cut and cover station at Island Gardens. The new station will be an island platform with lifts and stairs. There will be a crossover just north of Island Gardens station to allow single-track working of the Thames tunnels if needed. A 1.1km tunnel will be built under the Thames. Currently, Mudchute and Island Gardens have been closed to allow redevelopment to take place - the new alignment will be directly below the existing one.

         Controversy surrounds the station at Cutty Sark. The station site is 17m below ground, meaning that it will need lifts, escalators and pressurised emergency evacuation stairs, which would cost a lot to install. The Cutty Sark and nearby Greenwich town centre and the National Maritime Museum are big tourist draws. It has been decided that the station will be built.

         After emerging from the twin bored tunnels the line turns west and climbs to the surface alongside Railtrack’s Greenwich Station. A crossover would be included to allow single-track working in the Thames tunnel, as at Island Gardens.

         The Deptford Bridge station would be built above the A2. Elverson Road station will be built along side Brookmill Park. The Lewisham station will be built in the triangle between the Railtrack Bexleyheath and Sidcup lines. There will be links to the Railtrack station and a footbridge to the bus station.

         The route would be capable of two-minute interval service, with a minimum turnaround time at Lewisham of 1.5 minutes. Trains would be controlled by SELTRAC system as main network. No new rolling stock is planned but if traffic exceeds forecasts more of the B90 and B92 stock would be built. The winning bid would design, construct and maintain the extension during the concession period. DLR would operate the train service and pay privileges through a system of fares. Fares for the new section will be in accordance with the new system, but passengers who use the Thames tunnel will pay a premium.

         The extension will be built by City Greenwich Lewisham Rail Link consortium (Mowlem together with Nishimatsu and Mitsui). The route will cost £200 million and will include a underground station at the Cutty Sark. It is hoped that the route will be finished by 2000.
     

    Franchise

         Docklands Railway Management Ltd (DRML), has won the seven-years franchise to operate the services on the DLR. DRML will reduce the subsidy needed by 25%. Docklands Light Railway Ltd, which is owned by LDDC will pay DRML a fee each year to operate service. The fee will vary according to the levels of reliability on the line each year.

         At the end of the franchise the government has said that it will sell the railway outright.

    © Duncan Pflaeger, updated by A.Boodoo, 19-Feb-99, r2.3