Transport for London has rejected calls to extend the Elizabeth line or London Overground but will press ahead with plans to take the DLR to Thamesmead.
TfL announced on Friday that, after positive feedback from a consultation, it would now progress to developing the business case for connecting Thamesmead to the Docklands Light Railway.
However it admitted the proposal, which is currently unfunded and could cost up to £1.7bn, “would likely require funding from the private and public sectors” and is unlikely to open for at least a decade.
During the consultation, which ran between February and March, TfL received 1,254 responses from the public and 29 responses from stakeholder groups.
But many said it would be better to extend the London Overground across the river to Thamesmead rather than the DLR.
Others suggested extending the Elizabeth line. The Lizzie line’s south-eastern branch currently terminates only a mile or so away at Abbey Wood. Alternatively a new branch could be created to the Elizabeth line station at Woolwich.
Many others, including Labour MP Abena Oppong-Asare, who represents Erith and Thamesmead, and Bexley council, called for the DLR not to terminate at Thamesmead but be extended further into the borough, ideally to Belvedere and possibly beyond.
Some respondents suggested using trams to connect Thamesmead with surrounding transport hubs.
But TfL said extending the Overground “would not offer the same value for money or improvements to capacity and efficiency that is needed to unlock new development in Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead”.
TfL did not rule out extending the DLR beyond Thamesmead but said: “Our focus is on delivering a DLR extension to Thamesmead, which remains unfunded.
“If an extension beyond Thamesmead to Bexley becomes financially possible then this will be considered further. Our designs will continue to take a potential further extension into account.”
Thamesmead is home to more than 30,000 people but is notoriously poorly served by public transport, with no train or Tube connections. The riverside area can only be reached by car or bus via Woolwich or Abbey Wood.
TfL’s preferred option would extend the DLR’s Beckton branch by adding new tracks from Gallions Reach, the penultimate station on the line, and taking these south to Thamesmead via a new tunnel under the Thames. A new station, Beckton Riverside, on the north side of the Thames, would also be built.
But the line would not extend an additional mile from Thamesmead to Abbey Wood, where it could connect with Elizabeth line services.
Nor would it connect with City Airport, which is currently served by the Woolwich branch of the DLR. Passengers would have to travel to Canning Town to then switch DLR lines to reach the airport.
On this point, and concerns that the DLR would be “too slow” for passengers wanting to travel to central London, TfL said: “The DLR extension would connect with Elizabeth line and Jubilee line services at Custom House and Canning Town, providing frequent and fast connections to central London.”
Bexley council “supported the principle” of the proposed DLR extension but stated it must be designed to enable a future further extension into Bexley. It believes that an extension to Belvedere would be “relatively low cost, and the area would greatly benefit from improved connections to the transport network”.
TfL also wants the Government to remove the “safeguarding” of the Thames Gateway Bridge, a proposal that was in vogue when Ken Livingstone was mayor but which has been abandoned. The DLR tunnel would be in a similar location.
TfL hopes to complete work on an interim outline business case by spring 2025. Subject to funding, TfL hopes to start construction in 2028.
It claims that extending the DLR would support up to 30,000 new homes and up to 10,000 new jobs, reduce car dependency and improve access to jobs, retail and leisure activities.
TfL also conducted an opinion poll of 356 people. Of these, 85 per cent supported or strongly supported its proposals.
Mayor Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m pleased to see public support for these plans to extend the DLR to Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead, which will unlock huge opportunities for London, support tens of thousands of new homes, deliver new transport connections, and boost the economy, supporting the creation of thousands of jobs.”
TfL is in the process of replacing its fleet of DLR trains but this has fallen behind schedule and exceeded its budget, in part because of problems with a train depot.
According to TfL’s analysis of its consultation, 58 per cent of respondents said the DLR extension would make their journeys quicker around their local area and 75 per cent said it would make journeys into east and southeast London easier.
Alex Williams, TfL’s chief customer and strategy officer, said: “We will now progress work on plans for the cross-river extension of the DLR, which could see customers benefit from the early 2030s, and continue to discuss funding options with all parties.”
Rokhsana Fiaz, mayor of Newham, said: " The project has the potential to unlock a whole new development in the south of the borough, which would allow us to press ahead with plans to build more affordable homes, improve community spaces, as well as opening up the riverfront to all our residents.”
Cllr Anthony Okereke, leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said: "Extending the DLR will not only transform Thamesmead, it will also make our whole area of London easier and more convenient for people to and from.”
