Part of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) will be closed for just over a week later this month due to track replacement work.
DLR calling at Star Lane station
The section affected is between Stratford International and Canning Town, and the line closure will be from Saturday 19th August until Tuesday 29th August 2023. Although the Jubilee line runs parallel to the DLR up to Stratford, it doesn’t stop at Star Lane, Abbey Road or Stratford High Street, so people living locally will need to use buses to complete their journeys.
The closure is needed as TfL has to replace track components that having been in use since this part of the DLR opened in August 2011, have now reached the end of operational life.
The main track works will be taking place between Star Lane and West Ham, but they will close the whole stretch of the railway as there’s nowhere to easily reverse trains on the rest of the line.
There are also a number of other works taking place as this part of the DLR was built on a much older former British Railway alignment, and TfL says that they will be carrying out some ground strengthening to take place to prevent sections of the new track sinking in the older track bed.
While the track component replacement works are underway they will also take the opportunity to swap out some of the older wooden sleepers with new concrete replacements.
As the railway will be closed, they are going to be taking the opportunity it offers to carry out some preventative maintenance works to reduce the need for future closures. That will be mainly on the DLR signalling, while Network Rail will be able to carry out repairs to a bridge that crosses over the DLR. There will also be some maintenance works on a Thames Water sewer that runs by the DLR.
Tom Page, TfL’s General Manager for the DLR, said: “This closure between Stratford International and Canning Town is to allow vital track maintenance works to take place so that we can continue to offer customers a safe and reliable service across the DLR network. I would like to thank customers for their patience while these routine works take place and would ask anyone travelling to plan ahead, allowing plenty of time for any journey.”
The closure of Abbey Road station for a week will upset lost Beatles fans.
Track components have reached end of life after only twelve years??!
Yes things wear with use or deteriorate with age and need replacement. The items involved are probably the points.
It’s called light rail for a reason….
Are the dlr doing bus replacements from Canning Town to beckton
For a time I was a track designer and later auditor and it was suggested that the DLR have a “Doctor Yellow” like thay have on the mainline that could monitor track, trackside and platforms using a variety of technology assess against against MTBF and plan maintaince better in a more joined up fashion rather than employ multiple organisations with much manual process. Sadly this was blocked by unions / TFL.