DLR to reduce service following delays to new £900m fleet of trains

New DLR trains are due to enter service later this year

DLR services have been cut back as the rollout of a new fleet of trains costing over £900 million has been delayed for over a year.

Transport for London (TfL) has announced the first of 54 new, air-conditioned trains are expected to enter service on the DLR later this year, after the majority of them became stuck in Spain.

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The original plan was to introduce the new trains in April 2024, but a signalling issue created delays. Further issues appeared when the Buckingham Group, the contractor who had been hired to build a new depot for the trains, went into administration.

TfL previously explained that the trains were being kept in storage in Spain while it waited for them to come into service.

The new fleet, which has cost an estimated £942 million, was ordered to replace 33 of the oldest existing trains on the DLR network, some of which are over 30 years old.

TfL announced this week that extensive testing of the new trains is progressing well but explained that a reduced timetable was introduced on the DLR due to the age of some of the existing trains on the line.

Some of the oldest trains on the DLR will be retired this summer, meaning the number of trains on the network will be reduced to ensure it remains safe and reliable.

A full timetable is expected to be restored when the new trains enter service.

A reduced timetable came into force on Monday to coincide with the start of the summer school holidays.
As part of the changes, Beckton to Canning Town/Stratford International services will not run.

Meanwhile, DLR services between Stratford and Lewisham will not run between 6.30am and 10am and 4pm and 7.30pm on Monday to Friday.

Services between Canary Wharf and Stratford will run every five minutes in the peaks and every 6.5 minutes off peak.

Bank to Lewisham services will continue to run as normal.

The introduction of the 54 new trains will increase the capacity of the DLR network by more than 50%, with each new train offering 10% more space, air-conditioning, walk-through carriages, improved live travel information and mobile device charging points.

Stuart Harvey, TfL’s Chief Capital Officer, said: “The testing of the new DLR trains is progressing well and customers will start to be able to use these modern trains later this year.
“The new trains will ensure a more frequent and reliable service across the network and support growth in the Docklands and beyond.

“We need to begin retiring some of the oldest trains, meaning some short-term timetable changes are required. We apologise for this inconvenience to customers, but they are necessary to ensure we can maintain the safest most reliable service.”