01.09.06
Light at the end of the tunnel
According to David Sanders, of the Docklands Light Railway, London’s light rail network is currently in rude health
Docklands Light Railway (DLR), part of Transport for London (TfL), has recently carried a record 55 million annual passengers.
DLR’s growing popularity is testament to its unmatched punctuality levels, central position to Canary Wharf and other commuter centres, and successful extensions to Bank, Beckton, Lewisham and London City Airport. Passenger numbers have also been boosted by the ongoing regeneration of the local area, which, in turn, has been enhanced by the continuing development of the railway.
Further extensions to Woolwich Arsenal and Stratford International are already gathering momentum, and the railway is set to play a key role during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. As the demand for the DLR continues to grow - passenger numbers are set to reach 80 million by 2009 - the need for additional capacity has become increasingly apparent.
As a result, using funding from TfL’s £10bn Investment Programme, a Transport and Works Act Order application has been made and recently approved that will allow DLR to increase capacity by lengthening its trains from two to three-car on its busiest route, Bank/Tower Gateway to Lewisham.
Three-car trains will let DLR maintain a frequent and reliable service, while ensuring acceptable levels of passenger comfort and continuing to aid sustainable growth in local communities.
Delivering the capacity upgrade
In order to upgrade the DLR network to three-car operation, a significant amount of work must take place to strengthen viaducts and bridges and extend platforms and depot facilities.
The strengthening work will include the installation of additional steel plates to bottom flanges of steel girders and weld improvement by peening to increase the fatigue life of the structures when subjected to the increased loads of three car trains.
In addition the upgrading of the shock transmission units and bridge bearings will be required to cope with the additional braking forces created by longer trains.
DLR has already ordered 24 additional rail cars to accommodate the capacity upgrade. The procurement process is due for completion in Spring 2007 and three-car trains are expected to start running by late 2009.
Next steps
The London City Airport extension can already accommodate three-car trains and both the Woolwich Arsenal and Stratford International extensions have been designed with three-car operation in mind.
31 additional rail cars have been ordered to operate on the Stratford International route to boost services during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, making a total fleet of 149 cars.
A further Transport and Works Act Order application has been made to allow three-car trains to operate across the Stratford and Beckton DLR routes which are currently limited to two-car operation.
The application also includes a proposal to upgrade a major junction known as the ‘Delta’ which is situated at the heart of the DLR network. This would remove a current capacity constraint which is caused by two main DLR routes crossing at a level junction. The upgrade will provide a new grade separated route to remove this conflict and allow more frequent services to operate. If approved, this could be achieved by late 2009 to coincide with the start of three car operation on the Bank to Lewisham route..
Robert Niven, DLR Development Projects Manager, said: “Passenger use has grown dramatically as the DLR network has continued to develop, particularly over the past few years. The upgrade to three-car operation will ensure the railway can offer 50% more capacity while maintaining our award-winning passenger service.
“The importance of this upgrade project is underlined by the key role of the DLR during the 2012 Olympics. With the eyes of the world on the Capital it is imperative that we can provide a reliable public transport system that can carry millions of spectators to and from Games venues both quickly and efficiently.”
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