Docklands Light Railway extension to Thamesmead

Thamesmead, built on former marshland on the south bank of the River Thames in East London, was developed by the Greater London Council from the 1960s onwards to meet the demand from Londoners for social housing.[4] As part of the initial development of the area in the 1970s, the area was intended to be served by the (then) Fleet line and an infill railway station at Church Manor Way. However, plans for the railway station never came to fruition, and the Jubilee line was only extended to Stratford in 1999, with passive provision at North Greenwich for a second branch which would have a route to Thamesmead via the former North London line to North Woolwich, which itself is now used by Crossrail.[5] As a result of these developments, Thamesmead remains as being not directly served by railway services of any kind, with the closest stations being Plumstead, Abbey Wood and Belvedere. Furthermore, the area is in the centre of a 22 kilometres (14 mi) gap in major road crossings of the River Thames – with planned road crossings at nearby Gallions Reach and Belvedere never built.[6]

Limited passive provision is present in the Docklands Light Railway extension to Woolwich Arsenal for a junction to Thamesmead as of 2005,[7] however following the cancellation of the Docklands Light Railway extension to Dagenham Dock and the Thames Gateway Bridge in 2008, TfL considered other ways to assist with the development of the Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead areas throughout the 2010s.[8][9] Options proposed included:

• new downstream river crossings such as the Silvertown Tunnel, Gallions Reach Crossing and Belvedere Crossing[10]
• an extension of Crossrail east of Abbey Wood[11]
• dedicated high frequency bus services[11] - similar to the Greenwich Waterfront Transit proposal cancelled in 2009[12]
• an extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking line south from Barking Riverside[13][14]
• an extension of the DLR east from Beckton.[15][16]

Following the approval of the Silvertown Tunnel in 2018,[17] local campaigners pushed for public transport improvements in the area.[18] In March 2018, the Mayor's Transport Strategy proposed an extension of the DLR towards Thamesmead and Barking town centre.[19]

Plans for development in Thamesmead continued, with Peabody and Lendlease announcing an £8bn regeneration project in 2019 with over 11,500 new homes to be built.[20] Developers on the south side of the river also pushed for development, with Aberdeen Standard Investments proposing the redevelopment of Gallions Reach Shopping Park.[21]

In December 2019, a DLR extension to Thamesmead was formally proposed by TfL as part of the draft Thamesmead and Abbey Wood OAPF,[22][23][24] with proposed stations at Armada Riverside in Beckton and Thamesmead.[25][26] An extension of the DLR was proposed instead of an extension of the Overground from Barking Riverside,[24] as an Overground extension would have lower connectivity benefits, cost more to operate, have a low frequency of trains (4 per hour) and a construction cost twice as much as a DLR extension as the gradients required to cross the River Thames would require large scale tunnelling works when compared to the DLR.[25][27]

In September 2020, the extension was included in the long term funding submission by TfL to HM Government. The document noted that the extension would cost around £800m, with completion between 2026 and 2030.[28] Following adoption of the OAPF in late 2020, further feasibility and technical work began, funded wholly by landowners and local boroughs.[29][27] In 2022, the extension was included in the draft London Borough of Newham Local Plan, which proposed "a new city district" at Beckton Riverside, connected by the extension.[30]

In June 2023, the Strategic Outline Business Case for the extension was submitted to HM Government.[31][32] It noted that a DLR extension to Thamesmead could allow between 25,000 and 30,000 homes to be constructed. Three options would be considered in the next stage:

• Bus rapid transit between Woolwich and Abbey Wood, around 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) in length
• DLR extension to a new station at Beckton Riverside, around 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) in length
• DLR extension with stations at Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead, a tunnel underneath the River Thames, around 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) in length

The business case noted that a DLR extension to Thamesmead could cost between £700 million to £1.2 billion, and could be completed in the 2030s. The next step would be seeking government funding to develop the scheme further, with a full business case submitted in 2025.[31][33]