Year of misery at Custom House DLR

PASSENGERS USING Custom House Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station had better enjoy the experience while it lasts. Building work to improve the station will begin on Friday, 3rd February and last until the end of the year – resulting in the closure of the station. Trains will run straight through Custom House station without stopping and passengers are being advised to use Royal Victoria or Prince Regent stations to reach their destinations.

The work is intended to increase capacity at the busy station by 50% and will also facilitate the interchange between the DLR and the new Elizabeth Tube line which will open in December 2018. The current station canopies will be removed to allow for installation of a “mezzanine deck area” above the DLR platforms. Two additional staircases will also be installed.

The work will involve 400 tonnes of steel and 300,000 litres of concrete and will be carried out by Dyer & Butler. Several improvement works have been carried out since the DLR was first opened as the system has been expanded to cope with rising demand. In the early 1990s, as the DLR was becoming established locally, some 10 million passengers used the DLR each year. Now the number is up to over 100 million.

DLR Director Clair Mann issued the customary apology to passengers for inconvenience, saying, “We apologise to customers for the disruption this may cause but it is vital work and due to its nature it will not be possible to keep the station open while construction work takes place.” She promised that passengers will feel the benefit of the work when the station does re-open, saying, “the station will be much more spacious – making journeys for customers easier and preparing the station for increased passenger numbers.”

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