Funding and extending the Docklands Light Railway

The original Docklands Light Railway line, to Canary Wharf and Island Gardens, has since been extended, both into the City and outwards. The extension into the city triggered rapid growth in docklands but the outwards extension to Beckton has proved less successful, both in ridership terms and in stimulating urban renewal. However, another extension is now planned, crossing under the Thames to Lewisham. In April 1996 the Docklands Light Railway board recommended to ministers a preferred bidder for the concession to finance, build, own and maintain this new extension, estimated to cost $200 million. Meanwhile, as part of the government's privatisation plans, the Docklands Light Railway, owned by the London Docklands Development Corporation (a body due to be wound up in 1998) is considering bids for a seven year franchise to operate and maintain the DLR. The franchise is a step towards the full privatisation of the railway, which was transferred by the government from London Transport to the LDDC in 1994. The franchisee will assume full responsibility for the running of the railway, including services on the Lewisham extension when it is completed. The paper reviews the reasons for this newest extension, and the changing system of management of the DLR, and considers the future role of the system in a context that is changing quite dramatically.