Greenwich Council to spend £200,000 more on Thamesmead DLR extension plan
Greenwich Council are to spend a further £200,000 on plans to extend the DLR to north Thamesmead.
It’s part of a wider £2.2 million spend from a range of parties with £1 million from Transport for London on a Funding and Collaboration Agreement.
A further consultation is currently ongoing to extend the DLR from Beckton on a new branch to Beckton Riverside then under the Thames to a single north Thamesmead station somewhat remote from much of the rest of the town which will still find it quicker to reach Abbey Wood station.
The proposed line would not head further into Thamesmead to reach Abbey Wood station via both central and south Thamesmead thus failing to link much of Thamesmead to Elizabeth line, Thameslink and Southeastern Metro services, nor would it continue to Belvedere despite calls from Bexley Council today.
Difficult extension
Belvedere and neighbouring Erith are designated growth areas with plans for up to 8,000 homes in Belvedere and 6,000 in Erith. One element that would compromise a DLR extension east is the need for grade separation. The DLR is unable to run along streets as a tram could.
While Greenwich and TfL are pushing more funding to the DLR plan, a Bus Rapid Transit scheme for Thamesmead has been delayed from 2026 to 2029.
Following that news it emerged TfL – supported by Greenwich Council – are to cut eight buses per hour from parts of Thamesmead when the 472 bus is cut and replaced by Superloop route SL11 in January 2026.
Previous plan
A DLR extension was never originally planned to head south from Beckton when extension plans were drawn up some years ago.
The initial idea was it would head east to a new station at Beckton Riverside for new housing and that element remains, though the station site is slightly different, before heading to Barking Riverside then connecting to Dagenham Dock c2c station.
South of the Thames areas across Thamesmead including new housing in north Thamesmead would see a transit system – first a tram, then a trolley bus – quickly reach nearby stations such as Abbey Wood in five minutes or less.
Both projects were cut by Boris Johnson when Mayor.
Barking Riverside instead saw a London Overground extension for 10,000 new homes. Since then planned housing will now be 20,000 after changes were revealed last year increasing the population to 50,000.
Residents will be expected to use the solitary London Overground station with just four, five-carriage trains per hour.
That’s started to raise concerns about whether capacity will be sufficient.
Awkward result
The DLR plan as it stands has morphed into be a bit of an odd hybrid that doesn’t really benefit both sides as much as both 2000’s TfL plans once did.
Barking Riverside’s planned 20k plus homes (plus those around Dagenham) don’t see three stations spread across the extensive site while south of the Thames the proposed DLR has one station in the north of Thamesmead and doesn’t link quickly to the Elizabeth line.
The £23m BRT Thamesmead link to nearby station is likely to be a basic affair compared to an almost £2bn spend on a DLR extension.
Being grade separated also makes onward extension expensive and unlikely to happen, hampering growth potential in other parts of Thamesmead as well as Belvedere and Erith.
All in all it’s a compromised scheme and while it’ll benefit some, it’s hard not to see those original TfL plans for either side of the river benefitting many more if built out as once planned to enable greater housing growth across a wider area.
My understanding is that Greenwich Council, and TFL have no additional money available and looking to make further cuts to budgets which could affect front line services going forward.
So where do they find this additional money for these projects. Apart from taking money away from other projects planned around the Borough?.
The Government also announced a lot of infrastructure projects originally planned would not be able to go ahead in the foreseeable future due to cost and lack of money to fund these infrastructure projects.
So although we would all love to see a DLR extension to Thamesmead. Sdly I realky cannot see it happening anytime soon and yout probably looking at least 10 or even 20 years time in reality.
DLR would be capital spend and op-ex wise TfL are doing ok.
It’s still a waste though in terms of scarce resource when the Bakerloo plan is there and can transform masses of inner London. For this area have a decent BRT from across Thamesmead to Abbey Wood then in time convert to light rail when sufficient housing built.
Again, more infrastructure for the north of the borough. How about some representation in the south of the borough too? Abbey wood already had the Elizabeth line, easily accessed by buses from Thamesmead. They also have the new Super loop coming. The only modern infrastructure residents from Bexley, Bexleyheath, Eltham etc… have is the Jubilee line at North Greenwich. Served by one bus, the 132. This bus gets so full even by 6.00am in the morning. Getting home is even worse. People standing at the 132 bus stop, the start of the route, the bus driver has to pull away because the bus is full. You are then forced to wait another 20 minutes for another. By this time, the bus stop is full again at North Greenwich and it becomes a pushing shoving contest to get on it
I absolutely agree with you Jason Savage.
Sadiq Khan and TFL dismissed the idea of a 161 express bus route or a Superloop bus route serving the Eltham and Kidbrooke area through the Silvertown Tunnel.
I believe route the short bus route 335 North Greenwich Station to Kidbrooke Village via Blackheath Royal Standard has the scope to be extended to Eltham via Kidbrooke Park Road, Eltham Road, Yorkshire Grey, Eltham Hill and Eltham High Street. It could even be further extended towards New Eltham or Bexley.
Providing these areas with improved bus services to North Greenwich Station.
I agree 100% with Jason Savage and Graham.
Sadiq Khan Mayor of London and TFL do not care about improving public transport across the whole of the Borough of Greenwich or Neighbouring Borough of Bexley and only concentrate on the Thamesmead area.
I agree with Grahan we have some short bus routes in the Borough that could be extended to serve more of the Borough including Eltham Kidbrooke and Charlton areas.
Routes 291 and 335 both have the scope to be extended as suggested to TFL Buses Customer Services and Network Route Planners multiple tines. But sadly local Greenwich Labour Councillors and MP’s do not back or support local residents suggestions and they will not challenge any of Sadiq Khan’s as Mayor of London or r TFL’s decisions.
I’ve always thought this DLR extension was a waste of money, so it’s baffling to see so many people, both in person and online, cheering it on. It’s as if the endlessly repeated line about Thamesmead being “London’s worst connected area” has hypnotised everyone into believing this is the magic fix.
In reality, it’s a long, meandering route that’s hardly the smartest way to reach central London or even Canary Wharf. A quick bus ride to Abbey Wood to get the Elizabeth would get you there faster and with more options.
And let’s not forget the piece de resistance : an elevated platform plonked right in the middle of a low-rise residential area. Congratulations everyone you’re about to get a brand-new ‘landmark’ to enjoy from your windows and gardens, along with the bonus soundtrack of DLR trains rattling past.
True and I genuinely think the old tropes about Thamesmead have convinced people who don’t live here the DLR is best. I live in Thamesmead I want to get to Abbey Wood for rail – end of. That’s where the excellent connections are and that’s surely where people moving to any future new housing will want to go. A DLR is sort of appealing but still a very poor second place compared to the sheer scope of destinations and speed of journeys from Abbey Wood. Canary Wharf in 10 mins from Abbey Wood. DLR isn’t getting close to that. The City in 18 mins. DLR is double that. West End the same. Stratford 20 mins from Abbey Wood. Paddington. Heathrow. Even getting to Abbey Wood to change and it’s quicker. All sorts of places are direct from AW. DLR offers none of it without a change so why wouldn’t I go Abbey Wood and change anyway where trains will be every 5 mins? And also by the 2030s lets not forget HS2 at Old Oak. Big area of growth. Abbey Wood will go directly there. DLR? Nope.
The Government, TFL and Greenwich Council all plead poverty and say they have no money in their budgets due to a short fall in funding. Which means they cannot afford to provide essential front line services for vulnerable people and children etc. Yet they can always find money for expensive consultations and for paying staff to wotk on projects like the Thamesmead DLR extension. Although in reality there is no money for infrastructure improvements and was not included in the Chancellors spending review when amnouncing infrastructure improvements duriing this parliament. So extending the DLR still remains at least 20 years away if it happens at all.
Look at how many times they have
wasted public money on consultations and planning projects fot the Greenwich Waterfront Teansit ,GWT) rapid bus transit system between Thamesmead and Greenwich Town Centre which never materialised..
Money would be much better spent improving local bus services..As the majority of people living in Thamesmead and Abbey Wood would now use the Elizabeth Line
Extending the Overground tracks to link Walthamstow and Barking to Thamesmead and Woolwich so trains can then go to Lewisham and Peckham would have been such a game changer for south London transport and it’s still the cost of one tunnel then the cost of dead land. So short sighted sigh. Dlr on the other hand is absolutely pointless and costs the same.
While we’re discussing north-south connector routes, we need an active travel bridge across the river between Greenwich and Tower Hamlets. And / or repurpose the Rotherhithe tunnel.
The DLR Thamesmead extension is ideal for people who live in Thamesmead and want a much better quicker way to commute into Central London.
Without having to use local buses or to walk to Abbey Wood station. And to commute into Central London via using the Elizabeth Line, Thameslink and Southeastern from Abbey Wood.
There is an option to extend the DLR to serve Abbey Wood with phase 1 of the Thamesmead extension to get the go ahead from next year. And another option to extend the DLR to Dagenham Dock which could happen in 10 years time.