Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 7, 2007

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is a light rail system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of east London, England. It extends to Stratford to the north, Greenwich and Lewisham to the south, west close to London city centre and east to the rest of the Docklands, London City Airport and eventually Woolwich (currently North Woolwich). The DLR has separate tracks and rolling stock from the London Underground, but the two systems share a ticketing system and the DLR appears on the London Underground’s Tube map. All the trains are computer-controlled and have no driver: a passenger service agent (PSA) on each train is responsible for patrolling the train, checking tickets, making announcements, and controlling the doors. PSAs can also take control of the train in case of computer failure or emergency. Overground stations are unstaffed and underground stations staffed, with a few exceptions. Operation and maintenance of the DLR has been carried out by a private franchise since 1997. The current franchise, due to expire in April 2013, belongs to Serco Docklands Ltd, a company jointly formed by Serco and the former DLR management team. The DLR system is undergoing constant expansion, with 38 stations currently on the system.