Plans announced for three new DLR stations in the area

8:33am Monday 22nd November 2004

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A DERELICT train station at Stratford Market will be reused under plans to build three new Docklands Light Rail (DLR) stations in the area.

The new stations will be built at Stratford Market, Abbey Lane and Stratford International when DLR takes over part of the North London Silverlink line in 2009.

Government chiefs are in support of converting the overhead North London Line between Canning Town and Stratford to a dedicated DLR service.

About £90 million will be spent on upgrading the tracks and power supplies, constructing the new stations and buying new trains.

Old station buildings at Stratford Market will be reused under the plans, but local councillors are worried about the problem of fitting new DLR platforms in the confined space.

It has been proposed that the station should be further south with access from Bridge Road and Burford Road.

Concerns have also been raised about the short connection between Stratford International station and the current Stratford DLR station.

The council says the plan does not meet the requirement for a "physical link" between stations and is in negotiation with Union Railways to provide a travelator between them instead.

The current DLR platforms at Stratford station would have to be expanded under the plans by ten to 15 metres to improve accessibility.

The new service will run between Stratford International and Woolwich Arsenal, calling at London City Airport, and between Stratford International and Beckton.

The planned international station would link DLR and the wider Docklands area to trains from Paris, Brussels and high-speed domestic commuter services from Kent.

The North London Silverlink line currently runs two trains an hour but DLR would improve this to every ten minutes.

Journey times between Stratford and Woolwich Arsenal would be between 20 and 25 minutes.

New connections to DLR on the converted line would include the Jubilee, Central, District and the Hammersmith and City Underground lines.

The council's regeneration forum heard a presentation on the expansion plans from DLR expert Richard Di Cani at the Town Hall, East Ham.

He said the new train route would provide capacity for future growth and be an important part of the rail network serving the proposed Olympic sites in 2012.

Even if London does not host the 2012 Olympics, Mr Di Cani said the line would help regenerate the area.

Cllr Conor McAuley, chairing the forum, welcomed the plan that "would open up the Lower Lea Valley, open up sites and enhance development opportunities in the area".