Fly By DLR

M@
By M@ Last edited 219 months ago
Fly By DLR
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It’s like an old 1950s government propaganda flick…

4.4 km of track, four brand new stations, trains every 7-10 minutes, all delivered on-budget and before the deadline. This is the sort of can-do attitude that makes every one of us proud to be British.

Yup, it's the new DLR extension, which has just been officially opened by Ken. (Although the trains have been running for a few days already, as Diamond Geezer chronicles.)

We’re all cynical bastards when it comes to new developments, and how they habitually run into difficulties. Since the Dome fiasco, and probably long before, the average Londoner has moaned about construction delays, on average, every 48 minutes – that’s according to Home Office figures we may have made up. Even Seb Coe, despite his boundless enthusiasm, probably indulges in the occasional cuss behind closed doors.

Truth is, organising the armies of contractors, suppliers and planners to get everything done to schedule is a task of considerable complexity. This time, for once, they got it right. City Airport is now just 11 minutes from Canary Wharf and 19 from Bank. So let’s be positive for once and say a big ‘well done’ to everyone involved.

In other transport news, Jubilee passengers might notice a dip in the number of trains over the next few weeks. TfL are steadily withdrawing six-car stock from the line in preparation for the new extended trains that will come into service in the New Year. The line will be completely closed between 26 and 30 December.

Image from TfL.

Last Updated 06 December 2005