Industry News

• Olympic-sized upgrade for Docklands Light Railway

  1 Jul 2009

  A £208 million scheme to upgrade the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in time for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is due for completion shortly. The DLR Three-Car Enhancement project (DLR3) will improve the infrastructure of the railway, allowing trains to operate with three carriages instead of the current two and increasing capacity on the DLR by 50 per cent.

  
  By enhancing the infrastructure of the DLR and expanding the depot at Beckton, three-car trains will be able to operate along key routes throughout the Docklands and Thames Gateway. The scheme was introduced in order to accommodate an anticipated increase in passengers from 62 million in 2007 to more than 80 million a year by 2010. The upgraded DLR, which extends up to the heart of the Olympic Park in Stratford, will also play a key role in providing an efficient, world-class transport link for Games spectators in 2012.

  
  The infrastructure work required for the project is complex: platforms are being extended at more than 19 stations to accept three-car trains, station lifts and stairways installed, bridges and viaducts modified and strengthened, and railway tracks re-aligned and re-graded. Construction is currently taking place between Royal Victoria and Stratford International, with future work planned between the King George V and Woolwich Arsenal stations.

  
  From diverting electricity cables to moving gas pipes and substations, the project has so far required comprehensive utility planning. UPL is working on behalf of DLR3 lead contractor Taylor Woodrow to deliver the project’s utility planning requirements. We have provided detailed upfront feasibility studies to identify existing utility infrastructure, estimated diversion costs and presented proposals to ensure cost-effective project planning, cutting more than £10 million from the original DLR3 infrastructure budget. We have also provided utility project management services throughout the scheme, ensuring timely delivery of utility works and generating further savings in excess of £2 million.