Depot scheme at Beckton set to finish seven months later than planned

Transport for London has confirmed that last year鈥檚 collapse of Buckingham has delayed work on a scheme to upgrade the Docklands Light Railway.

The stricken firm was working on the northern sidings scheme at the Beckton depot in east London at the time it sank into administration last September.

The job was due to have finished the following month but a TfL spokesperson said replacement contractor Morgan Sindall would now complete the work next month.

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TfL said the new fleet of trains will replace the existing ones by the end of 2026

The sidings are needed for a new fleet of stock called B23 trains that will eventually be used on the DLR. These have walk-through carriages and can carry 10% more passengers than the trains being replaced.

The TfL spokesperson added: 鈥淲hile the improvements at Beckton will be now delivered later than initially planned, they will not impact initial plans of having all the new B23 trains in passenger service by the end of 2026.鈥

Buckingham won the 拢35m scheme three years ago with the work involving building a new carriage wash, extension and modification to existing track as well as creating new sidings for the new trains.

TfL said it was currently working out the final value of Morgan Sindall鈥檚 contract.

Morgan Sindall is also carrying out the southern sidings scheme, which also includes a new train shed, under a near 拢90m deal. TfL said the southern sidings can only be commissioned following the northern sidings commissioning.