Further capacity increase on the Docklands Light Railway

Three car trains have been introduced on the Bank to Woolwich Arsenal route on the
Docklands Light Railway as capacity is further increased in preparation for the Olympic Games this summer. The change was made from the start of service on Monday 30^th January and will see the three car trains in use on this route on weekdays with two car trains remaining in operation at the weekend.

The increase to three car trains on the Bank to Woolwich Arsenal service will see an extra 1500 passengers potentially being carried every hour in the morning peak – an increase in capacity of 50%. It now means that the only routes in the morning peak which remain as two car trains are Stratford-Canary Wharf and Stratford International-Woolwich Arsenal.

At the same time the DLR announced a timetable change for the evening peak which will
see more frequent services across the network. This will mean that 4,000 extra passengers will be able to be carried each hour during this three hour period (room for an extra 12,000 passengers in total).

The following routes will be getting frequency improvements:

• Bank-Woolwich: Every 8 minutes (was every 9 minutes)
• Tower Gateway-Beckton: Every 8 minutes (was every 9 minutes)
• Stratford International-Woolwich Arsenal: Every 8 minutes (was every 9 minutes)
• Bank-Lewisham: Every 4 minutes (was every 4.5 minutes)

Speaking about the changes, DLR Director Jonathan Fox said: “Woolwich and City Airport route passengers received a boost last year when we provided a through service to Stratford International during peak hours – we are now improving the DLR service again with 50 per cent more capacity direct to the City of London. This is a significant capacity increase and particularly good news for people in the boroughs of Greenwich and  Newham. It leaves the DLR in an excellent position ready to step up and meet the challenge of the 2012 Games. The extra capacity provided enables us to test our capability between now and July so the network will be poised ready to deliver trains when and where they are needed during the events.”