Major timetable changes are coming to London’s DLR next month – before new trains are introduced later this year

Regular users of the DLR, listen up. The automated east London transport network is changing its timetable this summer, with TfL cutting back on services before it introduces the network’s much-anticipated (and much-delayed) new trains. 

The changes are temporary and apparently intended to ‘ensure a reliable service can be maintained across the entire DLR network’. TfL says the reduced timetable is designed to coincide with the start of the school summer holidays (when the service is usually quieter) and that it focuses on parts of the network where demand is typically lower. 

The DLR’s new trains were announced back in June 2023, with initial designs showing off vehicles with fancy stuff like air-conditioning and USB charging ports. The vehicles – which, compared to the current fleet, are turquoise, more reliable and 10 percent more spacious – were supposed to be in operation back at the end of 2024, then they were delayed indefinitely. TfL now says the first of the DLR’s 54 new trains will begin coming into service this year.

Here’s what you need to know about the DLR’s new timetable.

• Beckton to Canning Town/Stratford International – no services (though Tower Gateway to Beckton will run)
• Stratford and Lewisham – no services in peak hours (6.30am-10am and 4pm-7.30pm). If required, customers should change at Canary Wharf.
• Services between Canary Wharf and Stratford will run every five minutes in peak times and every six and a half minutes off peak.
• Bank to Lewisham services will continue to run as normal.

The new timetable will begin on July 21 and the full timetable will be reintroduced once enough trains are back in service.

Commenting on the new timetable, TfL’s chief capital officer Stuart Harvey said: “The testing of the new DLR trains is progressing well and customers will start to be able to use these modern trains later this year. The new trains will ensure a more frequent and reliable service across the network and support growth in the Docklands and beyond.

‘We need to begin retiring some of the oldest trains, meaning some short-term timetable changes are required. We apologise for this inconvenience to customers, but they are necessary to ensure we can maintain the safest most reliable service.’

Also in Docklands: London’s cable car is launching a thrilling glass floor experience.

Plus: the Piccadilly line’s new trains have been delayed.

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