The first of the new DLR trains entered public service on Tuesday, very quietly, a day before the Mayor turned up and officially noticed it. There's just the one train so far, shuttling back and forth between Stratford International and Woolwich Arsenal until another unit's allowed to join it. People who get excited about trains got excited about it and most everyday passengers simply boarded and got on with their days.
The new trains are the right DLR colour for once, turquoise not red, so are easy to spot approaching in the distance. They're all 5 cars long in fixed formation and are the length of the current 3-car trains. This is good because one day they'll replace the 2-car units currently running on some lines and increase capacity dramatically. They're also fully walkthrough, so the member of staff will be able to patrol the whole train rather than being compartmentalised at one end.
We've been waiting a long time for this, indeed the Mayor first sat on a new train in Beckton Depot in February2023, which is almost a thousand days ago. Back then the intention was for passenger service to begin in early 2024, a target missed by absolutely miles. But it takes a long time to get the engineering and signalling right, also for new units to rack up sufficient hours on the tracks, which is why so many DLR branches have been closed for so many weekends for so many months.
One thing you might notice when you step aboard is fewer seats. This is especially obvious in the centre of the train where a large area has been given over to potential wheelchairs, pushchairs, luggage and general standing space. All seating is longitudinal, none of that old school looking forwards in the direction of travel, because this enhances circulation and capacity. The only exceptions are at the very front and very back where yes, you can still pretend you're driving the train, but they're high-backed seats with a lumpen box in front so the experience isn't quite as good as before, especially if you're six.
Another thing you'll notice is the lights above the doors. They illuminate green when the doors are open, making it easier to spot where the doors are, and they illuminate red just before the doors are about to close. There's also an earsplitting beep when the red thing happens, covering all sensory bases. On the wall alongside is a teensy red LED display meant only for the eyes of the train guard. Most of the time it displays '--' but sometimes when the train's moving it changes to 'S', and I'm still trying to work out why. Most excitingly it displays a countdown before the train is ready to set off from its first stop (not the time until train starts moving but until it could), starting from quite a high double digit number.
The trains have digital screens for passengers too. As a station approaches they tell you its name, its interchanges and also which side the doors will open. And inbetween they show a map of the next three stations, a bit like on the Elizabeth line, with the ultimate destination shown on a strip above. What's new is that the stretch of line you're on at the moment is shown with chevrons, not a turquoise line, and it may take a while before I instinctively understand what this means. Meanwhile the seats have a brand new moquette called Poplar, again first revealed 2½ years ago, although disappointingly not yet available as socks or cushions in the London Transport Museum shop.
It may be a while before you travel on the new train, although it'll become successively easier as the remainder of the fleet is introduced. Expect a slow start but the intention is that all 54 will be in service by the end of next year. They won't replace all the existing DLR trains, only the oldest 33, with the surplus being used to increase frequency across the network. It's all a massive investment in capacity, making it more likely you'll be able to squeeze aboard more often, although if you want a seat best head to either end rather than the middle.
