DLR operating contract extended until September 2014

07 January 2013
Transport for London (TfL) announced today that the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) has granted an 18-month extension to its contract with Serco Docklands Ltd to operate the railway on its behalf.

Following a hugely successful Olympic and Paralympic Games and sustained levels of train punctuality since the Games, TfL has taken up the option of extending its existing contract with Serco Docklands for the operation of the railway.

Under the contract, Serco will continue to be responsible for the operation of the DLR train services, maintenance of the network (except for the Lewisham, Woolwich and Stratford International extensions which have separate maintainers) and maintenance of the DLR rolling stock.

The extension will continue on the same terms as the original contract award in 2006 and will run from April 2013 to September 2014.

DLR Director Jonathan Fox said: 'I am pleased to announce the extension of this contract and the continuation of a successful working partnership that has seen the DLR expand its network, increase its capacity by 50 per cent and successfully meet the challenge of the Olympics, when the network carried more than 100 per cent more customers than normal.'

David Stretch, Managing Director of Serco Docklands, said:  'We are extremely proud to have been awarded an extension to the Docklands contract. Serco has proved itself a trusted partner to Transport for London over 15 years, consistently improving service reliability on the DLR and achieving its best ever reliability in 2012.

'We look forward to another 18 months in which to deliver award-winning DLR services for London's travelling public.'

Notes to editors:

  • The contract extension is worth approximately £100m
  • Serco has operated the DLR since 1997 in two consecutive franchises