It may be the end of 2026 before Docklands Light Railway’s fleet of new trains becomes fully operational, Transport for London has admitted.
The continuing date slippage has been blamed on unexpected “challenges” with the testing of the initial ‘B23’ units delivered from Spanish manufacturer CAF. The first set, which was due to enter service in April, is still not cleared for public use.
News of the delays was conveyed to TfL’s board meeting by Commissioner Andy Lord on June 12. Without going into technical detail, he admitted: “We have experienced some challenges with this phase… we continue to work collaboratively with our suppliers and operator to mitigate this”. It is known that a unit overshot a signal.
These problems will not be a surprise to the railway industry, as new trains are notoriously difficult to commission.
South Western Railway is not using its fleet of 90 new Alstom/ Bombardier ‘Arterio’ Class 701s, despite them being four years old.
Stadler’s Class 777s on Merseyside are still not all in service, and the Tyne & Wear Metro is also behind schedule with its new Class 555s.
While 30 of the 54 new five-car DLR units ordered from CAF in 2019 are reported to have now been completed at the factory, they still await shipping to Beckton depot, where there are concerns over how long the current ‘B90’and ‘B92’ units will be capable of maintaining the full timetable on their own.
These concerns were conveyed in an email to customers on March 28, when a date of summer 2024 was given as to when the replacements would start to take the strain.
In the meantime, DLR has reduced train lengths on services between Stratford International and Woolwich Arsenal from three-car to two-car formations, to reduce the fleet mileage and help maintain the current timetable without service reductions for another two years.
Existing stock is noticeably beginning to show its age, with evidence of body corrosion and tired internal fitments such as damaged seats or threadbare covers that are not automatically being replaced.
Track and power system upgrades associated with the introduction of new rolling stock means that the DLR has closed an hour earlier than usual on 20 dates in May and June, terminating services at 2330 from Monday to Saturday and 2230 on Sundays.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the DLR is successfully but slowly recovering from the collapse last September of main contractor Buckingham Group, midway through the £35 million expansion of the ‘B23s’ new maintenance depot, carriage washer and stabling area at Beckton.
The contract has been relet to Morgan Sindall and should be completed within weeks, although there are issues with the additional sidings needed for the 11 extra units that were added to the original order to provide additional capacity.
A new tender has been issued for this work, which will be funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.
Other investment continues in DLR - including construction of the second entrance at Blackwall station, which was approved last year and is well under way.
Looking forward, TfL has been pondering the extension of DLR from Gallions Reach to Thamesmead, which was proposed at the end of 2019, and was the subject of public consultation at the start of this year.
There would be two new stations at Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead Waterfront, although finding £1 billion-plus means that it might not open for at least another decade.
After that, TfL says that taking the DLR further south to Belvedere (Bexley) is feasible.
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