Amey Rail has been selected by Docklands Light Railway (DLR) for an early works package worth up to £42m for the proposed extension to Thamesmead in south-east London.
image: TfL
The appointment, made through Transport for London's (TfL) Infrastructure Improvement Framework, covers the development of the programme, risk assessment and preparation for construction. The contract award notice gives a potential value of £41.8m excluding VAT, but only the initial stage is currently committed.
The proposed 3km extension would branch from the existing DLR network at Gallions Reach in the Royal Docks, serving a new station at Beckton Riverside before crossing beneath the River Thames to a new station at Thamesmead.
The plans include a viaduct through Beckton Riverside and a 1.5km twin-bore tunnel beneath the river.
The extension is intended to improve public transport connections to Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead, areas identified for substantial housing and employment growth. TfL estimates that the scheme could support up to 30,000 new homes and 10,000 jobs.
The initial stage of the early works package will cover mobilisation and a review of the programme and its assumptions including identification of risks and mitigation measures, definition of early works and scoping of surveys.
Further stages would involve carrying out agreed surveys and investigations, developing the scope of enabling works and establishing more detailed costs, programme requirements and commercial arrangements. The final stage would deliver the defined early works ahead of the main construction programme.
TfL continues to develop the scheme ahead of a planned Transport and Works Act Order application in early 2027. Subject to the necessary approvals and funding arrangements, construction could begin by 2029, with the extension and new stations potentially opening in the early 2030s.