More trains for Docklands Light Railway
By Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter
A major boost to the frequency of Docklands Light Railway (DLR) services is set to be introduced later this month, Transport for London (TfL) has revealed.
From Monday, May 15, timetable changes will come in across the DLR to bring more services to all routes, especially at peak times.
TfL said the increased services will help to reduce waiting times and overcrowding on platforms, as well as providing better connections with the Elizabeth Line at Canary Wharf, Custom House and Stratford.
Tom Page, TfL’s general manager for the DLR, said the changes would bring “quicker, easier and more comfortable journeys” for passengers.
The most significant change will see peak service levels running half an hour longer on all DLR routes in both morning and evening peak times.
The morning peak service will end at 10am instead of 9.30am, and the evening peak service will end at 7.30pm instead of 7pm – meaning that there will be a higher frequency of trains for a longer period of time at both the start and end of the working day.
Direct services between Stratford and Lewisham during the evening peak period will be introduced for the first time.
This means a service every two to four minutes between Canary Wharf and Lewisham instead of every four minutes, and direct services between Stratford and Lewisham – without changing trains at Canary Wharf – every eight minutes.
Frequencies between Canning Town and Beckton on Monday-Saturday evenings will be doubled.
Currently, trains on this route run every five minutes, until 7.30pm on those days, after which time they drop down to every 10 minutes. The new timetable will extend the every-five-minutes frequency to last until 11.30pm on weekdays and until 10pm on Saturdays.
Frequencies will also be doubled between Stratford and Canary Wharf on Saturday evenings. Trains will be every five minutes – rather than every 10 – until 10pm rather than until 7.30pm.
New walk-through, air-conditioned DLR trains – complete with USB charging points and a new colour scheme – are currently being tested on the network and are due to enter service from 2024.
Pictured top: A DLR train at Royal Victoria station (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/mattbuck)
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