In a document published ahead of the local authority’s transport and place scrutiny panel on Thursday (April 3), the council set out the expected timeline for a DLR extension.
The project would introduce two new stops on the Gallions Reach branch of the network – one at Beckton Riverside and one at Thamesmead.
Greenwich Council has said that building the extension is the “key in unlocking land” earmarked for redevelopment in Thamesmead. The town currently has no station.
This would allow around 15,000 new homes to be built on a 100-hectare site to the west of the town’s existing retail park on the southern bank of the Thames.
According to the local authority, work could start on building the extension in spring 2028, allowing trains to start operating from late 2031 or early 2032.
But the project still has to clear many funding and planning hurdles before it can reach this stage.
Transport for London (TfL) is yet to secure full funding for the project, although it hopes to have this in place by the end of this year.
A public consultation on the scheme is scheduled for late spring, with the outline business case for the extension expected to be completed by July.
Another final public consultation would then be launched in February next year, ahead of submission of the project to the government for approval in autumn 2026.
Greenwich Council anticipates that a decision would be made by late 2027 or early 2028, paving the way for work to start.
In the meantime, those living in Thamesmead will have to continue to rely on the London bus network to travel to other parts of the capital.
The town’s closest station is currently in Abbey Wood, although TfL also wants to introduce a new Superloop service in the local area.
A bus transit scheme to improve local transport services has also been proposed by TfL – but this is unlikely to come much before 2029.
