Docklands Light Railway extension to Thamesmead

The Docklands Light Railway extension to Thamesmead is a proposed Docklands Light Railway (DLR) extension to serve the Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead redevelopment areas of East London.

Mooted in the late 2010s,[1][2][3] the extension was first formally proposed in 2019 by Transport for London as part of the draft Thamesmead and Abbey Wood Opportunity Area Planning Framework,[4][5] with proposed stations at 'Armada Riverside' and 'Thamesmead Central'.[6][7]

Project development

Thamesmead, former marshland on the south bank of the River Thames in East London, was developed by the Greater London Council from the 1960s onwards to meet the demand from Londoners for social housing.[8] As part of the initial development of the area in the 1970s, the area was intended to be served by the (then) Fleet line. However, this never came to fruition, and instead the Jubilee line was extended to Stratford in 1999.[9] As a result of this, the area is not directly served by railway services of any kind, with the closest stations being Plumstead, Abbey Wood and Belvedere. Furthermore, the area is in the centre of a 22 kilometres (14 mi) gap in major road crossings of the River Thames - with planned road crossings never built.[10]

In the mid 2010s, Transport for London (TfL) considered a number of options to assist with the redevelopment of the area, estimated to have the potential of 10,500 new homes.[1] These included an extension of Crossrail east of Abbey Wood, dedicated high frequency bus services, an extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking line south from Barking Riverside[11][12] and an extension of the DLR east from Beckton.[13]

In 2016, TfL consulted on a variety of proposed river crossings including the Silvertown Tunnel, Gallions Reach Crossing and Belvedere Crossing, due to the lack of crossings in the area. An option included the extension of the DLR from Beckton to Thamesmead as part of the Gallions Reach Crossing.[14][15]

In February 2019, Peabody and Lendlease announced an £8bn Thamesmead regeneration project with over 11,500 new homes to be built.[16] Following this, the DLR extension to Thamesmead was first formally proposed in December 2019 by Transport for London as part of the draft Thamesmead and Abbey Wood Opportunity Area Planning Framework,[4][5] with proposed stations at Armada Riverside in Beckton and Thamesmead.[17][6] An extension of the DLR was proposed instead of an extension of the Overground from Barking Riverside[5], as an Overground extension would have lower connectivity benefits, the line would have a low frequency of trains (4 per hour) and a construction cost twice as much as a DLR extension, as the gradients required to cross the River Thames would require large scale tunnelling works when compared to the DLR.[17]

Route and stations

As of April 2020, the proposed route of DLR extension diverges from the Beckton branch just after Gallions Reach, turning east to pass by Beckton DLR depot before Armada Riverside station in Beckton. The route then continues southeast, crossing the river (the consultation does not specify bridge or tunnel) before arriving at Thamesmead Central.[17][6] The consultation also noted that the line could be extended further to Belvedere, Abbey Wood or elsewhere in Bexley in the future, via two other stations.[6]

Station locale London borough
Armada Riverside[7] Newham
Thamesmead Central[7] Greenwich
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References
  1. "DLR extension to provide 11,500-home Thamesmead boost". Inside Housing. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  2. Chamberlain, Darryl (15 February 2019). "TfL lifts lid on possible Thamesmead DLR extension". 853. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  3. Mayor of London (10 October 2016). "East London Crossings (8)". Mayor's Question Time. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  4. Leeming, Lachlan. "See DLR extension plans for Thamesmead and Abbey Wood". Bexley Times. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  5. "Workshops about the future of Thamesmead and Abbey Wood opened to public". News Shopper. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  6. "Draft Thamesmead and Abbey Wood OAPF - Transport and Growth". Greater London Authority. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  7. "Thamesmead and Abbey Wood OAPF - OAPF Transport Strategy - December 2019 Draft" (PDF). Greater London Authority. p. 81. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  8. "Thamesmead local history" (PDF). London Borough of Bexley. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  9. Horne, Mike (2000). The Jubilee Line. Capital Transport. pp. 50–52. ISBN 978-1-85414-220-7.
  10. BBC (8 October 2008). "Inside Out London - Thamesmead". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  11. "Call to bring London Overground to Thamesmead – south east London's largest town with no trains". This is London Local. 22 September 2014.
  12. Dudman, Jane (1 August 2014). "Boris Johnson's London orbital railway – is it a good idea?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  13. Mayor of London (2 June 2014). "DLR Extension to Thamesmead and Bexley Riverside". Mayor's Question Time. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  14. "Have your say on new river crossings in east and southeast London - Transport for London - Citizen Space". consultations.tfl.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  15. "Mayor commits to building greener, public transport-focused crossings". London City Hall. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  16. "Peabody picks Lendlease for £8bn Thamesmead regeneration". Inside Housing. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  17. "Thamesmead and Abbey Wood OAPF - OAPF Transport Strategy - December 2019 Draft" (PDF). Greater London Authority. December 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2020.

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