Docklands Light Railway rolling stock
The Docklands Light Railway rolling stock is the passenger trains and service vehicles used on the Docklands Light Railway, which serves the London Docklands area in the east of London.
The passenger trains consist of high-floor, bi-directional, single-articulated EMUs. The trains are formed of sets of two or three semi-permanently connected cars, the increase to three-car trains introduced on the busiest routes since 2010, following substantial platform extension works. The automation system is a GoA3 driverless system, which requires a Passenger Service Agent to manually open and close the doors and, when necessary, manually drive the train.
There have been three different main types of DLR rolling stock, but only two of them are in operation; the original P86/P89 stock having been withdrawn and sold to Essen, Germany.
From 2025 onwards, a new fleet of 54 trains built by CAF will replace older rolling stock on the DLR and provide additional capacity.
Passenger stock overview
The first three generations of passenger trains consist of 149 high-floor, bi-directional, single-articulated cars, each long. The cars have four doors on each side. When the system was first built, trains sometimes consisted only of a single unit, but now each train is normally composed of two cars coupled together. A third car has been added on the busiest routes since 2010. Each car has 70 seats and has a total capacity of 284 passengers. The future B23 rolling stock will be a single 5-coach unit equivalent to the length of a 3-car train, with 13 doors per side.The cars do not have a driver's cab, although there is a small driving console hidden behind a locked panel at each outer car end from which the Passenger Service Agent can manually drive the train if necessary. Other consoles at each door vestibule allow the PSA to control door closure and make announcements whilst patrolling the train. Because of the absence of a driver's position, the fully glazed car ends provide a panoramic forward view for passengers. At least one PSA is required on each train to close the doors upon departing and for emergency situations, such as taking the controls or evacuating the train, especially in tunnelled sections.
Despite being highly automated, the cars are derived from a German Stadtbahnwagen B design, which was intended for use in light rail systems with sections of street running lines. Unlike the Stadtbahn trains which use overhead lines for power, the DLR trains are powered by a bottom-contact third rail.
The first three generations that have operated on the system looked similar, but there have been four main generations, subdivided into multiple orders, three of which are still in operation on the Docklands Light Railway, the most recent entering service in 2008. None of the rolling stock has air conditioning, except for the upcoming B23 stock.
The DLR trains have a maximum speed of, but the fastest possible speed reached is through the tunnel under the River Thames between Woolwich Arsenal station and King George V.
P86 and P89 rolling stock
The fleet for the 1987 opening consisted of 11 light rail vehicles built in 1986 by Linke-Hofmann-Busch in Germany and numbered 01 to 11. These were referred to as P86 stock, the 'P' referring to Poplar depot, where they were maintained. These cars originally had inward folding doors, similar to many trams and Chicago "L" rolling stock produced from the 1940s to the 1960s, but which proved to be problematic; later cars had single leaf sliding pocket doors.Vehicle 11 made history several times. It was part of a light rail demonstration at Debdale Park, Manchester for which it had a pantograph fitted by Balfour Beatty. The demonstration took place on 9 February 1987 as evaluation trials for a potential tram system in Manchester. P11 was the last unit to be delivered to the DLR at Poplar on 30 March 1987, without the pantograph. It carried Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh during the opening of the DLR on 30 July 1987 from Island Gardens to Poplar and then to Tower Gateway. It also operated the first revenue-earning DLR service and was the first to move to Essen in 1991.
There were 84 seats in each car with most arranged in transverse bays of four to take advantage of the large windows. There were two wheelchair bays, and twelve longitudinal seats to provide a larger circulation area. An emergency operator's console for the Train Captain was provided, which was locked when not in use. These cars were built for the initial above-ground system and, because of failing to comply with safety and fire regulations, were not allowed to operate on the tunnelled extension to. Because of this, and because adaptation to a new signalling system was too costly, these cars were sold in 1991 to of Essen, Germany. Despite the sale, several cars remained in service on the DLR until July 1995, when they were finally withdrawn along with the P89 stock. In Germany, they were extensively rebuilt and put into service on the Essen Stadtbahn between 1994 and 1998. Originally, they retained DLR colours and were limited to route U11, but after a further modification programme started in 2005 trains are appearing in a yellow livery and are used on all routes.
In 1989–1990, British Rail Engineering Limited's Holgate Road carriage works, produced another ten cars, numbered 12 to 21. These were broadly similar to the original P86 stock but had a level of fireproofing which permitted operation through the twin tunnels to Bank. These were designated P89 stock and remained in operation on the DLR until 1995. The two initial car types were effectively identical in appearance; apart from the car numbers, one difference was the red colour underneath the end window was noticeably more orange and reflective on the P89 cars than on the original P86 ones. By 1994, all P89s had been modified with single-leaf sliding pocket doors. They were also subsequently sold to Essen, where they entered service between 1999 and 2004 after major modifications had been carried out. In 2005 the last cars were repainted in Essen colours. Because the Essen Stadtbahn does not currently use fully automated driving and uses overhead line rather than third rail power collection, the modifications to both sets of cars involved fitting driver's cabs and pantographs. Today, the former London trains operate all lines.
B90/B92/B2K rolling stock
Additional vehicles were required as the network expanded, and as the original P86 and P89 cars had to be replaced due to their unsuitability for the changed system conditions. Bombardier built 23 vehicles of B90 stock in 1991, 47 vehicles of B92 stock from 1993 to 1995, and 24 vehicles of B2K stock from 2001 to 2002 at its Bruges, Belgium plant. When newly introduced, the B2K stock differed from the earlier vehicles in appearance as the doors and handrails were painted in colours that contrasted with their surroundings. These differences were all mandated by the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations of the Disability Discrimination Act, which were not in force when the older cars were built.The 'B' in the type codes refers to Beckton DLR depot, where they are primarily maintained. They are of a common design and can be operated interchangeably in trains of up to three sets.
The DLR fleet at the end of 2004 consisted of:
- 22–44: Bombardier B90, built 1991
- 45–91: Bombardier B92, built 1993–1995
- 92–99, 01–16: Bombardier B2K, built 2001–2002
DLR cars had a common livery of blue, white and red upon delivery. Over the years, several vehicles were painted in an all-over advertising livery. A new livery of turquoise and blue was tested on B90 car 40 in the late 1990s, but it was not adopted and the car was repainted in standard livery a few years later. The B90/B92/B2K stocks were refurbished between 2004 and 2007 with the completed trains re-entering service with a redesigned interior and in a new livery of red and blue with grey doors to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The refurbished units feature an Audio and Visual Information System which gives audio announcements when approaching a station: "This train is for destination, the next stop is next stop", for example:
"This train is for Bank, the next stop is Canary Wharf". It also announces the name of the station once the doors have opened, for example: "This is Canary Wharf". The fronts of the trains were refreshed from 2013, with the red front being repainted into a black front similar to the style of the B07 stock, after an online vote found it to be the most popular.
Two B90 vehicles numbered 38 and 39 have been scrapped following withdrawal in March 2022 and May 2016 respectively, as well as a single B2K unit, numbered 98, withdrawn from service in July 2019 following accident damage.
B92 vehicle 88 was initially withdrawn from service in April 2020 due to an electrical fault, but was reactivated in early 2023 after conversion to a dedicated shunting vehicle being utilised for the unloading and movement of the new build stock within the depot at Beckton. By March 2024, the unit had been scrapped.
The new B23 trains will replace all of the B90/B92/B2K stocks, with the DLR timetable altered in June 2025 to maximise the life of these trains before they are withdrawn from service.
B07 Stock
In May 2005, a further 24 vehicles of a new design were ordered from Bombardier for network extensions and three-car service on the Bank–Lewisham route. They were to be delivered between May 2007 and September 2008, but were delayed. These vehicles are known as B07 stock, and are numbered 101 to 124. The first was delivered on 22 December 2007, and three units of B07 stock, 104, 105, and 106, were displayed at West India Quay on 13 March 2008. The first train of B07 stock, made up of units 105 and 106, entered service in September 2008. Even by March 2009 few of the new trains had appeared in service, but all units of this first batch had entered service by July 2009.In June 2006, another 31 vehicles were added to this order. Sometimes called B09, these trains are the second batch of B07 cars and were built at Bombardier's plant at Bautzen, Germany. This batch was partly funded by the Olympic Delivery Authority and was planned for delivery by 2009. The first six units had been delivered by June 2009 with all in service by the end of June 2010.
The B07 stock units feature a totally redesigned exterior and interior. They have larger windows and doors and more leg room. In addition, several technical improvements were made for better acceleration, altered door functions to enable faster boarding and alighting, and improved braking for a smoother ride.
The B07 units were the first to operate as three-car trains in early 2010; the B92 trains followed operating in this way later in 2010. The initial three-car route was the mainstream Bank to Lewisham route, but the lengthened trains were subsequently also used on other routes.