New hope for Thamesmead DLR as second consultation begins

New details about the planned Docklands Light Railway extension to Thamesmead have been released by Transport for London – days after the government suggested it may be willing to fund the rail link after all.

A new consultation was launched on Monday morning into the scheme, which was costed at up to £1.7 billion two years ago. The route would branch off the existing line at Gallions Reach before tunnelling under the Thames to reach a new terminal close to a planned housing development, Thamesmead Waterfront.

Building the route would enable the construction of 15,000 new homes at Thamesmead Waterfront, along with another 15,000 homes at Beckton Riverside. A fast bus link to Woolwich and Abbey Wood – the SL11 Superloop – is also planned.

The consultation is the second into the project, which had appeared in jeopardy after it did not appear in chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spending review.

Cannon Retail Park — How the proposed Thamesmead station site looks now. Image: The Greenwich Wire

However, last Thursday, details of new government funding for TfL were released, which said that Westminster “recognises the potential housing and economic growth that could be stimulated by extending the DLR to Thamesmead via Beckton, and acknowledges the substantial work undertaken on the programme to date. [The government] will continue to work closely with the Greater London Authority and TfL so they can finalise a full business case and funding plan by autumn 2025.”

While there is still no funding for the scheme, TfL has allocated money towards a Transport and Works Act order application – the formal request to build the extension – in this year’s business plan.

An artist’s impression of the route through Thamesmead. Image: Transport for London

New details included in the consultation include:

Services would initially run every 8-10 minutes to Thamesmead. However, TfL concedes that this would be insufficient in the long term and is looking at options to build a “turnback” at either Royal Victoria or Canning Town so more frequent services could run.

TfL has confirmed that the station would be sited on the Cannon Retail Park. The entire retail park would disappear if the Thamesmead Waterfront development is built. TfL says the location of the station has been chosen to “would best serve existing residents of Thamesmead, as well as the planned development of Thamesmead Waterfront. A station in this location would also support the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s ambitions for a revitalised town centre in Thamesmead.” It says the station would be designed to accommodate an extension east, which Bexley Council has been pressing for.

The new route would run in a tunnel under the Thames but would then pass over the Twin Tumps, which were storage facilities for ammunition when Thamesmead was part of the Woolwich Arsenal, on a viaduct. The Tumps are now a nature reserve, but much of the nearby open land that still remains 58 years after work began on building Thamesmead would be swallowed up by the wider development. The viaduct would end at the new station.

If approved, TfL says the extension could be up and running by the early 2030s. The development could create 10,000 jobs and add £15 billion to the economy, it adds.

The consultation is open until August 17 at haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk.

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