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TfL seeks interest from manufacturers for new generation DLR trains

Posted: 17 May 2017 | EuroTransport | No comments yet

Customers on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) – which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year – are set to benefit from new walk-through air-conditioned trains as of 2022.

TfL DLR train image

Customers on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) – which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year – are set to benefit from new walk-through air-conditioned trains as of 2022.

TfL DLR train image

The new trains, which will increase capacity by over 30 per cent, will be more reliable and provide customers with real time information, air-conditioning and mobile device charging points.

DLR continues to flourish

Significant redevelopment is taking place in and around the Docklands area of London, which the DLR serves. In the Royal Docks alone, up to 36,500 jobs and 7,000 homes are being created. To support this growth, Transport for London (TfL) will replace two thirds of the existing trains – some of which are 25 years old – and order an additional ten new trains to provide even greater capacity.

Danny Price, TfL’s Director of DLR, said: “These new trains will enable us to increase capacity on the DLR by 30 per cent, significantly improving the comfort, reliability and quality of our service for customers. Ordering them now ensures that we get the best value for money in the long term and can support continuing growth in east London.”

“We intend to go out to tender later this year with the new trains entering service from 2022.”

Passenger use is set to continue to grow when the DLR network interchanges with the Elizabeth line from 2018. Services between central London, Shenfield and Abbey Wood will interchange with the DLR at several stations – Canary Wharf, West India Quay, Stratford and Custom House – where new platforms, a new ticket hall and entrance are being constructed.

Giving a heads up

TfL has published a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) seeking expressions of interest from the train manufacturing industry to build the new trains with improved performance and reliability. A formal Invitation to Tender is expected to be issued later this year and a contract awarded in the summer of 2018.