01.05.06
Work on Woolwich Arsenal extension begins
Work has begun on the tunnelling work that is to form part of the 2.5 km Woolwich Arsenal extension on the Docklands Light Railway.
As part of the preparatory work a 540 tonne boring machine was lowered into a launch chamber in North Woolwich. The tunnelling began in April and will take 15 months to complete.
The £180 million extension will form a key part of Transport for London’s (TfL) five-year £10 billion investment programme. It is being designed and constructed by AMEC for Woolwich Arsenal Rail Enterprises (WARE), a consortium of AMEC and the Royal Bank of Scotland, and is set to open for services in 2009.
Director of Docklands Light Railway, Jonathan Fox, expressed his confidence in the project, “The DLR’s most recent extension, to London City Airport, was completed by AMEC ahead of schedule and on budget; we are confident Woolwich Arsenal will be equally successful.”
Earlier this year, Docklands Light Railway Ltd awarded another franchise to Serco Limited to continue to operate, maintain and support the Docklands Light Railway for the next seven years. The company was originally awarded the DLR franchise on a seven-year contract from April 1997, which was extended by two years to cover the opening of London City Airport extension. The new £400 million franchise is to begin in May 2006.
Serco, who beat First Carillion Ltd, Keolis/Balfour Beatty and Transdev RATP in the franchise bid, will be responsible for all aspects of railway maintenance, other than the Lewisham and London City Airport extensions, which are managed separately. As part of the new franchise they will be investing in a range of technology improvements on the network, including upgrading CCTV on trains and providing electronic information screens on stations and trains.
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