THE IMPENDING ARRIVAL OF MORE TRAINS PROMPTS A DEPOT EXPANSION
London’s Docklands Light Railway is growing apace. As Docklands is one of the few parts of the capital where there is space to expand, housing and employment growth have continued on an upward trajectory even when the national economy has faltered. At times, the light railway has struggled to keep pace with the upward tick in passenger numbers and now a large order for new trains has been placed with Spanish manufacturer CAF to upgrade and expand the fleet.
The base order is for 43 new trains:
■ 33 trains to replace life-expired B90/92 trains, with space for 792 passengers on each train (an uplift of up to 20%);
■ 10 extra trains to relieve overcrowding;
■ there are an additional 34 trains on option.
These will be fixed formation walk-through trains equivalent to three existing cars, with 94 B90/92 cars being replaced. DLR will retain its 55-strong fleet of more recent B07 cars.
ACCOMMODATING THE NEW TRAINS
DLR has five work streams in place for upgrading the system concurrently with the arrival of new trains:
■ remodelling of Beckton depot to accommodate the extra trains;
■ a power supply upgrade, with more equipment in substations;
■ an upgrade …
