The Docklands Light Railway extension to Dagenham Dock is a proposed, and as yet unfunded, extension of the Docklands Light Railway to Dagenham Dock in east London. It was anticipated that the project could be completed and open for use by 2017. However the public inquiry has been postponed due to concerns about funding. The proposed extension forms part of the planned transport infrastructure of the London Riverside section of the Thames Gateway redevelopment project.
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Proposed route and stations
The proposed route diverges from the Beckton branch at Gallions Reach station in the London Borough of Newham. It follows the River Thames north bank, crossing the mouth of the River Roding in a bored tunnel south of the Barking Flood Barrier. Here it enters the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and continues to follow the river on a viaduct before heading northwards to reach Goresbrook and Dagenham Dock. It is envisaged that four new stations will be built, with additional platforms at Dagenham Dock which is currently a c2c station.
Project development
In 2007 a number of route options went to public consultation, with a decision made in November. An application for a Transport and Works Act order was made during 2008. The order makes provision for the compulsory purchase of land along the route. A public inquiry was due to take place but was postponed. As the reason for this project is almost entirely to serve homes in the Thames Gateway which see no immediate prospect of being built, timescales for this project are now uncertain.
In November 2008 the Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced that due to financial constraints the proposed extension, along with a number of other transport projects, had been cancelled.
In October 2009 the project featured in the draft transport strategy and the draft replacement of the London Plan. The Mayor's transport strategy states that Transport for London will investigate the feasibility of the extension as part of the housing proposals for Barking Riverside.
More recent plans to extend the Gospel Oak to Barking Line of the London Overground to a new station in Barking Riverside are regarded by TfL as an alternative to a DLR extension.