DEVOTED TO DLR
PAUL STEPHEN speaks to MARTIN RENNOLDSON, Bombardier’s Group Account Director for TfL, about the role the company’s rolling stock has had in shaping the Docklands Light Railway, and could play in its future
Few companies can claim to have contributed so heavily to the 30-year success story of the Docklands Light Railway as Bombardier, which has manufactured each of the 155 purpose-built electric multiple unit (EMU) vehicles that are currently in operation on the network.
This relationship is made all the more remarkable by its endurance, with Bombardier consistently chosen to provide successive orders of rolling stock to help DLR keep pace with booming demand, and to serve physical extensions to its network.
The first order was for B90 stock which Bombardier built in 1991 to replace the DLR’s original P86 and P89 stock that ran in single cars, and therefore became increasingly unsuitable for the heavier passenger loadings being experienced on the network prior to their withdrawal in 1991 and 1995.
The 23 B90 vehicles from Bombardier were not only technically superior with increased acceleration, but they also enabled DLR to convert to two-car operation, and were shortly bolstered by an order for 47 nearidentical B92 stock vehicles that were built between 1993-95.
Fully automated, the stock quickly established itself as a firm favourite with users, thanks to its capacious interior, large panoramic windows and striking red livery.
By the turn of the millennium there was a requirement for additional capacity as Canary Wharf continued to cement its status as a global financial centre, and an extension was opened to Lewisham in 1999. DLR once again turned to Bombardier for a solution, and 24 vehicles were built between 2001- 2002. Known as B2K, they were an updated version of existing stock.
DLR’s fleet was finally brought up to its current level just a few years later, when 24 B07 stock vehicles were ordered in 2005, which was increased by a further 31 vehicles in 2006.
Those vehicles were needed for the network extensions serving London City Airport, Woolwich Arsenal and Stratford International. Meanwhile, the DLR was also being converted to three-car operation ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games, during which the network carried an unprecedented 12 million visitors.
Bombardier’s TfL Group Account Director Martin Rennoldson says: “Our relationship with DLR started in the early 1990s when we began delivering the B90 stock, and that relationship has gone from strength to strength to tie in with the dramatic increase in the size of the network.
“We were asked to design something sufficiently robust for this particular environment, which is not really light rail or metro but heavy light rail, and we were given a lot of scope in the interior and exterior design and technical performance in order to meet DLR’s business aspirations.
“We like to think that we’ve played our part in DLR’s growth over the last 25 years as its long-term rolling stock partner. It has changed phenomenally in that time, not just in the physical growth of the network but in that part of London, which has been opened up to large-scale development.
“It’s helped make Canary Wharf the global financial powerhouse is it now, and connects with Stratford, which was the primary venue of the 2012 Olympics, and is now a key development area. It also serves London City Airport, which is an increasingly attractive airport to fly from.”
Demands on the fleet continue to rise with 122 million passenger journeys recorded in 2016-17, a 10% increase from just two years previously. At the same time, reliability remains consistently high, and the moving annual average for fleet reliability (scheduled services that operate) stood at 99.2% at the end of June.
The stock is maintained by DLR operator Keolis Amey, but Bombardier provides technical assistance and supplies spares. This hard-working fleet sustains an impressive performance, more than 25 years since the first vehicles emerged from Bombardier’s Derby Litchurch Lane facility.
The company is now hoping that this means it will be well-placed to fulfil the next order for DLR rolling stock, as was confirmed in the Mayor of London’s draft Transport Strategy published in June.
It stipulates that 43 new vehicles are needed from 2022 to enable 33 of the oldest B90/92 vehicles to be withdrawn, and to strengthen services across the Royal Docks area where 25,000 new homes and 60,000
It’s a special case and you have to get to know DLR quite well to really understand its requirements. Martin Rennoldson, TfL Group Account Director, Bombardier
new jobs are planned.
Although the new trains will be the same length as existing two and three-car trains, they will be run in fixed formation and feature walk-through carriages to add 30% capacity, resembling the 192 S-Stock trains built by Bombardier for London Underground’s subsurface lines between 2009-17.
The new trains will have air-conditioning, power sockets for mobile devices and onboard real-time information, while Bexton Depot will be expanded to accommodate them.
Transport for London has also indicated that it will seek improved reliability by specifying a mean distance of 50,000km between service-affecting failures, while any new stock will be powered by the network’s 750V DC third rail and have automatic operation technology compatible with DLR’s moving block signalling system.
An Invitation to Tender is expected to be issued later this year, and a winning bidder announced in 2018.
Bombardier should be in strong contention, as Rennoldson points to the intimate knowledge that its designers already possess of DLR from winning previous bids, and designing rolling stock that fulfils the network’s unique requirements.
This has bred a familiarity with the demanding performance required from rolling stock on track well known for its weight restrictions, extremely tight curve radii and inclines as steep as 1-in-6.
Rennoldson adds: “We have always been aware of these challenges and can bring our previous experience to bear - and our unique insights. We understand DLR in terms of its standards and procedures and its demands in reliability and acceptance standards. TfL certainly set the standards very high.
“There’s nothing else like the DLR in the UK, and when we built the ‘92s’ they were very much a bespoke solution. It’s a special case and you have to get to know DLR quite well to really understand its requirements.”
Should Bombardier be tasked with delivering the next generation of DLR rolling stock, it will be just the latest in a long production line of trains it has built, or is building, for the wider London area in recent years, and on networks which face a similar capacity challenge.
As well as building the S-Stock for London Underground, the firm is building 70 Class 345 Aventras for Crossrail, with the first entering service between Liverpool Street and Shenfield in June. It also has a fleet of 45 Class 710 Aventras under construction for London Overground.
Looking to the future, Bombardier has entered into a joint venture with Hitachi to bid for the Deep Tube Upgrade Programme, due to be awarded next May, as well as entering into the pre-qualification process for the DLR rolling stock replacement project.
Rennoldson concludes: “The existing DLR stock is iconic in its own right, but there’s room to bring it more into the 21st century and to emulate that ride comfort, capacity and interior ambience of newer trains we have built for London, such as the S-Stock.
“We need to focus on reliability, but also build on ridership, internal capacity and ambience so it’s still an attractive and comfortable environment to travel in.
“I know DLR anticipates ridership to level off a bit when Crossrail opens [to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in December 2018], but then rise again strongly, so it needs to make sure that every square centimetre of its new rolling stock is used intelligently and effectively, while integrating with the rest of the TfL network.
“Since 1992, we’ve been delivering about 20 trains a year on average for TfL. It is one of our top ten global customers, and we’d like to maintain that with a strong UK-based approach.”