Woolwich Arsenal DLR to open early
THE Woolwich Arsenal DLR extension may open as early as January.
Tests carried out at the station south of the river are going so well the provisional date for its opening at the end of February looks like it may be brought forward.
The station, which is costing £180m and is mostly being constructed by Morgan Est, is being built as part of the regeneration of the Woolwich Arsenal area.
Morgan Est, project director Richard Pollard said: “We are looking at early next year for opening. We were hoping for a handover at the end of February but it should be before that. Probably some weeks before.
“We are going through the finishing of the installation but mainly now it is about testing all the systems.�
The Wharf was given an exclusive look behind the scenes at the station which will provide a new link for commuters south of the Thames.
The route will get passengers from Woolwich to London City in five minutes and to Canary Wharf in 19 minutes.
The project is a 2.5km extension from King George V, of which 1.8km will be a tunnel under the river. Work began on the station in 2005.
Barriers are in place as well as an operations office manned by three or four staff, who monitor the station and the rest of the network.
Infrastructure engineer Chris Lucas of Colas Rail, which is also working on construction for the site, said: “This has been a huge job. It’s such a big station with such a lot going on.�
The station is likely to be heavily used during the 2012 Games with shooting events due to take place at Woolwich Artillery Barracks.
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I am looking forward to this much needed extra means of Travel to and from work, there are so many commuters living in the Woolwich area at the moment. Transport to the city is unbearable in the rush hour.
I live in Thamesmead West will this transport link push the house prices up in the area,
like Lewisham had when the Docklands link arrived.
I think any newish properties will have had the likely value increase factored in when the project was first mooted.
Thamesmead is having a big problem because of the empty flat blocks due to the well publicised fraud case.
With that and the current economic climate, I dont think you can rely on price increases or even stabilisation of prices for some years yet.