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TfL names Keolis Amey Docklands as Docklands Light Railway operator until 2021

Posted: 4 July 2014 | Transport for London | No comments yet

Transport for London has named Keolis Amey Docklands as the new franchisee of the Docklands Light Railway to operate and maintain the network until April 2021, with an option for this to be extended until 2023…

DLR

Transport for London (TfL) has today named Keolis Amey Docklands as the new franchisee of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to operate and maintain the network until April 2021, with an option for this to be extended until 2023.  

Docklands Light Railway

The DLR is already one of the highest performing networks in the country with train punctuality regularly above 99 per cent. (Image copyright – TfL)

Around 100 million passenger journeys are made on the DLR network annually and this new contract, with a value in excess of £700m, will commence on 7 December 2014, and will see Keolis Amey Docklands work with TfL to ensure that passengers continue to see improvements to their service.   The DLR is already one of the highest performing networks in the country with train punctuality regularly above 99 per cent.

The focus for the new franchise will therefore be to maintain this performance in the context of delivering more services to meet growing demand in east London.  

TfL’s Managing Director of London Underground and Rail, Mike Brown, said: “The DLR is a rail network that continues to support regeneration across a huge area of London and the economic growth of the city as a whole. Its connectivity with the rest of the transport network, and its potential to connect jobs and unlock opportunities, is also set to increase further when we start to operate the Crossrail services that will interchange with it in a few years’ time.   “The decision to appoint Keolis Amey Docklands was reached after a thorough and competitive procurement process, which will ensure the DLR continues to deliver an ever-improving high quality, value for money service for Londoners well into the future. I would also like to thank Serco for their support since 1997 in helping make the DLR the success story it is today.”  

In 2018 Crossrail services between central London, Shenfield and Abbey Wood will begin to interchange with DLR at several stations – Canary Wharf / West India Quay, Stratford and Custom House, where a set of new platforms, a new ticket hall and entrance are being constructed.   The DLR is part of a large and growing TfL network of rail services, which also includes London Overground routes across the capital and the West Anglia service from Liverpool Street station to Enfield Town, Cheshunt (via Seven Sisters) and Chingford and between Romford and Upminster, which will come under TfL control in May 2015.  

The DLR began operating in 1987, with 11 trains serving 15 stations and in its first year of operation it carried 6.7m people. Today the railway – which is entirely step-free – has 45 stations, 38km of track and 149 carriages and during the 2013/14 year, it carried a record-breaking 101m passengers.   The railway was a crucial carrier during the London 2012 Olympic Games when 6.9million journeys were made – up by over 100 per cent on normal levels. Over 500,000 journeys on a single day were made for the first time on Friday 3 August, 2012.