Work to increase capacity on the original Docklands Light Railway route into Stratford from Canary Wharf has started which should see 1,100 more passenger journeys per hour carried. The main work will be undertaken around Pudding Mill Lane station with double track installed and a slightly resited station opened. The work is partly needed due to Crossrail which will be coming out of a tunnel in the vicinity to join up with the national rail network.
By spring 2014 it is planned that DLR services into Stratford from Canary Wharf/ Lewisham will be more reliable and there will be a boost in capacity from 5,500 to 6,600 passenger journeys per hour. The first stage of work – which started on Tuesday 20th August – involves the installation of a second set of tracks at the eastern end of the site and is complementing double tracking work being undertaken on behalf of DLR as part of the Crossrail construction project.
The new Pudding Mill Lane station will be sited slightly to the south of the current structure and it needs to be moved to allow space for the Crossrail route. It will have 90 metre long, 4.5 metre wide platform and 5 metre wide stairs. It is expected that it will be a very busy station due to its proximity to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Work to connect the new double tracking and the station to the current DLR network will take place in spring 2014, and until that time no disruption is anticipated for passengers. Double tracking is due to be provided in three phases between Bow Church and Stratford with this first stage stretching between Pudding Mill Lane and Waterworks River.
Jonathan Fox, TfL’s Director of Rail, said: “This work will bring a real boost to the service enjoyed by the thousands of passengers who use this route and help to encourage even more people on to the DLR. In addition, when the Pudding Mill Lane upgrade project is completed and a new station with the biggest capacity on the DLR is opened, it will provide excellent access for people travelling to events at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This contribution to the continued post-Olympics regeneration of this part of London has come about due to close and effective collaboration with our Crossrail colleagues.”
Currently 10 trains per hour can be carried on this route with a mixture of two and three carriage trains which gives a total of 5,500 passengers an hour. Once the double tracking is completed it will be possible to run 15 trains an hour – a frequency of one every four minutes – which would allow up to 10,000 passengers an hour to be carried. However this frequency is a long term aspiration as it would require funding to purchase more rolling stock.