Plans for a £1,700,000,000 DLR extension in east London involving the creation of two new stations are being finalised.
A final consultation on the plans is now underway and a map showing what the new routes would look like has been released.
The route will split off from the existing DLR line to Beckton at Gallions Reach, where trains will continue on to Beckton Riverside before terminating at Thamesmead.
Construction of the new route will involve building two tunnels under the Thames as well as the new stations – Beckton Riverside north of the river and Thamesmead south.
The extension was approved when funding was allocated in Labour’s November 2025 budget. During the final round of talks, more detailed plans for the stations themselves will be considered.
Beckton Riverside will be at street level with a footbridge and lifts linking two platforms on either side of the track.
Meanwhile, Thamesmead will be built on the site of Cannon Retail Park on a viaduct. It will have a central platform and tracks running on either side.
Trains would run every eight to 10 minutes along the route and every eight to 10 minutes from Beckton, meaning Gallions Reach will run services every four to five minutes.
Will there be more DLR extensions?
There are no current plans to extend the DLR further.
However, the new station at Thamesmead would be designed to allow for a potential future extension of the line out towards Belvedere in Bexley, southeast London.
When will the new Thamesmead DLR station open?
Once the final details have been finalised, Transport for London (TfL) will submit a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) application which, if approved, will mean plans for the extension can finally go ahead.
TfL is hoping to submit the application in early 2027 and construction could begin as early as 2029, meaning the new stations could open in the early part of the next decade.
Thamesmead sits on the border of Greenwich and Bexley and is a residential area made up predominantly of 1960s social housing built on former marshland.
Beckton in the east London borough of Newham was also built on marshland known as the East Ham Levels. Housing was built there during the 19th century for workers of the Beckton Gas Works and Beckton Sewage Treatment Works.
TfL says the extension, in addition to improving transport connections to both areas, would allow for the construction of up to 25,000 new homes along the route.
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