The Limehouse DLR station, which also has an interchange with the C2C railway is getting an upgrade at the moment, but it’s running rather late.
The aim is to add two new escalators to the station, in part for convenience, but mainly to add extra capacity to a connection with the mainline railway. When the station was built back in 1987, it was separate from the National Rail platforms next door, and people had to go down to the ground level, then back up again.
In 2009, a footbridge was added (a year later than planned), which meant westbound C2C customers could hop onto an eastbound DLR train — which is useful for Essex commuters to Canary Wharf wanting to avoid the West Ham connection.
Around 3,000 commuters use the footbridge each morning.
However, in the evening, passengers wanting to swap from the DLR onto the C2C service still have to go down two flights of stairs and back up again. The escalators aim to speed up the connection, as well as tripling the capacity of the old staircase.
It’s running late though, as works started in January and were expected to be completed in March, and now the DLR website says completion due in April.
We’re at the end of May, and I would say completion in June looks more likely.
TfL knows how improve railway stations across Greater London. Just like what they did with Hackney Wick station that was completely refurbished which looks much nicer and modern. Limehouse is a very busy station and that’s why it needed a lot of upgrades.
But no explanation as to why the delay!
What a pity nothing was done to improve passenger interchange at Shadwell when the DLR part was “refreshed” a couple of years ago. Many people interchange between the DLR and the Overground station across the road, but there is still only staircase (a long one) access to the platforms – and a totally inadequate small, slow lift. If Limehouse commuters need as escalator, why not Shadwell ones?
Its now November. Does anyone know when it will open? Its been a very long time now?