Transport for London
Construction of the DLR extension to Woolwich Arsenal was undertaken by WARE (Woolwich Arsenal Rail Enterprises) a joint venture company formed by AMEC plc and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Under a concessionaire arrangement WARE has been contracted to design, build, finance and maintain the extension. This approach has successfully been taken previously with the Lewisham Extension (1999) and London City Airport Extension (2005).
Construction began in June 2005 and the station was opened on 10th January 2009, ahead of the scheduled contract date of 28th February.
Two tunnels were driven under the River Thames to allow trains to run in both directions. The tunnels were completed on time and the 540-tonne boring machine, nicknamed Carla, broke through the earth south of the Thames in July 2007. Carla removed about 104,000 cubic metres of material – enough to fill around 1,100 double-decker buses.
On the 25th / 26th October 2008, test trains ran for the first time between the extension and the existing railway to check the ATC (Automatic Train Control) and other systems. This was followed up with further tests that simulate an operational service. All tests were completed successfully.
