DLR to Woolwich

The City Airport DLR branch will further be extended under the river to Woolwich Arsenal station.

This is a £145m project to continue the DLR City Airport branch from King George V station 2.5km via bored tunnels under the river to a new station adjacent to Woolwich Arsenal national rail station. The extension is under construction and is expected to open in late 2008.

The route will consist of twin bored tunnels from just east of King George V, heading southeast and curving all the way round to a westward direction until they reach Spray Street in Woolwich, where there will be an open air scissors crossover, and then a cut-and-cover tunnel will be created to house the final approach and DLR platforms - part of which would be under the eastbound South Eastern Trains platform.

Entrances will be provided at Woolwich New Road and Greens End (near Powis Street). Lifts, escalators and stairs will all be provided between the low-level DLR platforms and the street, and there will be an interchange footbridge linking the DLR to both overground rail platforms.

The DLR platforms will be able to take 3-car trains. Some money from the Olympics transport fund will be used to enhance the rest of the City Airport branch to permit 3-car running all the way to Bank (the platforms are already all long enough, but some other minor infrastructure alterations may be necessary).

Work has now begun on the tunnelling for the 2.5km DLR extension from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal.

£7.7m will be spent over the next 12 months upgrading DLR's depot at Beckton so it can handle 36 new trains, which will be deployed on the busy Bank-Lewisham route as well as the new Woolwich Arsenal extension from 2009.

The official start of work on the DLR cross-river extension from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal will take place on Monday.

AMEC/Royal Bank of Scotland have been announced as the preferred bidder for the cross-river extension of the DLR from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal.

Transport minister Tony McNulty announced that the submission of the £145m DLR extension to Woolwich under the Transport & Works Act had been approved.