London’s famous Tube map is set to get two new stations added to it, with the Docklands Light Rail (DLR) being extended.
Transport for London (TfL) has announced that it is planning on building two brand new DLR stations as part of an extension of the network in South East London.
The authority says its proposals include a new leg of the light rail from Gallions Reach to Thamesmead via Beckton Riverside, reports MyLondon.
This would involve building a new tunnel under the River Thames. A public consultation has been launched and residents can have their say from February 5 until March 18.
Officials say up to 30,000 new homes could be ‘unlocked’ along the route extension in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Newham – where the new high-tech City Hall is located. The extension would also support the creation of up to 10,000 jobs.
The proposed DLR extension, via Beckton Riverside, would connect two ‘Opportunity Areas’ and four development sites. A new stop would be built at Beckton Riverside, with a tunnel built under the River Thames linked to another new DLR station at Thamesmead.
But, residents told MyLondon that they remain sceptical about the prospect of the project being completed any time soon.
Raymond Hutchins, 74, who used to work at the Ministry of Defence, has lived in Thamesmead since 1972.
He said in January: “They’ve been trying to get the DLR through a tunnel here for how many years? It’s like the big marina that never happened.”
“It’s probably never going to happen.
‘It won’t happen in our time’
Another man at the bar, 74, who has been in the area for 22 years and did not want to provide his name, said it has been in the offing for “30 years at least.”
He then quipped: “Let me put it like this, it won’t happen in our time.”
TfL says the project would build on experience from 2009, when the DLR was extended to Woolwich Arsenal, tunnelling beneath the River Thames, with housing growth following in areas including Woolwich, Canning Town, and the Royal Docks.
A spokesperson for TfL said: “With significant growth pressures on London and the South East, transport and housing infrastructure must keep pace with demand.
“Forecasts suggest that London’s population will have grown significantly by 2041, and that there will be at least an additional 800,000 jobs in the capital, which will create the need for more housing.”
They added: “Providing new public transport options like the DLR extension would support low-carbon developments in Thamesmead and Beckton Riverside, unlocking the delivery of up to 25,000-30,000 new homes along the extended route.”
