Brand new DLR timetable increases capacity

A brand new timetable was introduced to the Docklands Light Railway on Monday (12 July) that has increased capacity in the morning peak to 11 per cent. This means more trains will be running more often as part of the £325m upgrade programme.

Improvements have been seen with the introduction of three car trains on the Bank to Lewisham route adding 50 percent capacity on this busy route.

The 11 percent increase in the morning peak means that there are now 15 trains per hour running compared to just 13.3 trains per hour in the old timetable. This means an extra 1,100 passengers per hour. In addition to this, there is an 11 percent increase in the evening peak on the Stratford to Lewisham branch meaning 10 trains per hour and an extra 490 passengers per hour.

In detail, the changes to frequencies are as follows:

- Morning peak services between Canary Wharf and Lewisham is operating a combined 20 trains per hour compared to 22 trains per hour, but there is an 25 percent increase in capacity since the introduction of three car trains in February.
- The Bank to Lewisham route has been increased from 13.3 to 15 trains per hour.
- Stratford to Lewisham frequency has been reduced from 8.9 to 5 trains per hour, however, the 11 percent increase means that the Stratford to Canary Wharf section has been increased from 8.9 to 10 trains per hour.
- The evening peak timetable remains unaltered, although all Stratford trains will be terminating at Canary Wharf instead of Lewisham to meet current demand on the Canary Wharf to Lewisham section.
- Midday off peak services between Stratford to Canary Wharf have been reduced from every five to every seven minutes.

Kulveer Ranger, the Mayor’s transport adviser, said:

Increasing the capacity of the DLR is vital ahead of the 2012 Games when it will play a key role in getting people to the venues.

Delivering these improvements now is a good example of the Mayor’s commitment to delivering the legacy of the Games early for people who live and work along the route of the DLR.

Jonathan Fox, the Director of the DLR said:

We are pleased to be able to deliver this service improvement to our passengers.

This is the second network capacity improvement step following on from our upgrade programme and there will be more to come as our passenger numbers continue to increase.

Passengers will see increasing benefits delivered by our upgrade and new carriages.

Again I’d like to thank them for their patience and cooperation during the last three years.

The three car train upgrade programme will 55 new carriages being introduced by 2012. Currently, construction work is taking place on all of the other parts of the DLR – most particularly the Beckton branch with Custom House, Prince Regent and Beckton stations getting platform extensions.