New DLR trains unveiled, serving London City Airport and the rest of the network from 2024

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• Pb says:

  11 Feb11 February 08:46

  Manufactured in Spain , at least if Bombardier had built them here it would have provided some work albeit the profit would have gone to Alstom .

  • Erico1875 says:

    11 Feb11 February 08:55

    Yes it’s all part of leveling up. Make Spain richer than us. They make a lot of the wind turbines too

  • ChrisBCN says:

    11 Feb11 February 09:00

    I think the train manufacturing sites in Derby, Newport, Goole are all too busy making other trains, some for foreign operators IIRC

    • PeteM says:

      11 Feb11 February 09:07

      Cairo monorail. First new UK rolling stock exported for a very long time…

      • DaveJ says:

        11 Feb11 February 09:29

        Is there a chance the track could bend?

        • Alex B says:

          11 Feb11 February 12:27

          Not on your life my HfP friend

    • BlueThroughCrimp says:

      11 Feb11 February 09:18

      The Derby ones with the Bangalore software still not commissioned and sitting in various sidings? (Although there is more than just the software delaying entry).
      The Gautrain Electrostars are the last reasonable export I can think of.

    • RussellH says:

      11 Feb11 February 14:36

      The Newport factory is owned by CAF, who are the only Spanish Rolling Stock manufacturer that I know of.
      Bombardier got into serious financial difficulties following late deliveries of various contracts, which led to the sale of the C Seies project to Airbus to become the A220.
      Alstom bought what was left of Bombardier in 2020-21. There is absolutely no guarantee as to where Bombardier would have built the trains, had they won the contract.

      • Max says:

        12 Feb12 February 20:09

        Spain also does have Talgo as rolling stock manufacturer.

• Jonathon says:

  11 Feb11 February 08:50

  I know it’s the official DLR colour but man that colour is bad, and looks old/out of date before they even get rolled out.

• BlueThroughCrimp says:

  11 Feb11 February 08:59

  Made by CAF, the manufacturer of the (noisy) Caledonian Sleeper stock.
  Well known as Cheap As F…

  • PeteM says:

    11 Feb11 February 09:08

    Don’t mention the Birmingham trams from the same manufacturer 🤣

    • PeteM says:

      11 Feb11 February 09:10

      Or indeed this story, although that’s not really their fault! https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/02/10/unspeakable-botch-spain-spends-258-million-on-trains-that-are-too-big-for-its-tunnels

• NFH says:

  11 Feb11 February 09:50

  I understand the new DLR trains are fitted with obsolete USB-A sockets, while all modern smartphones are now supplied with USB-C cables. And the sockets support only 5V slow charging, not 9V USB-PD fast charging. Slow charging is ideal on a 10-hour flight but not on a 10-minute DLR journey.

  • The Jetset Boyz says:

    11 Feb11 February 10:07

    They’re fitted with the regulatory-approved USB-A sockets, they can be upgraded to USB-C sockets later once they’ve been approved as they’ve been designed with that in mind.

    Here’s the FOI response rgarding this:

    “The current design provides for 5V USB A. The choice of rail approved USB chargers is limited and our supplier is unaware of any in production at this time that meet the fast charge standard. This element has however been designed so that at a later time should new devices become available, the USB facia can be removed and replaced with a different specification USB port of the same size.”

    • NFH says:

      11 Feb11 February 10:35

      Yes, I made that FOI request, prompted by Apple having just switched from USB-A to USB-C in October 2020. But I’m not convinced that replacing the facias with USB-C will provide USB-PD because of the different voltage required. I don’t believe that TfL made sufficient effort to commission the production of bespoke USB-C / USB-PD sockets for these trains, instead seeking a non-existent off-the-shelf solution.

  • John says:

    11 Feb11 February 10:11

    I recall that leading Brexiters such as Mr Mogg were opposed to the EU’s meddlesome attempt to standardise mobile charging around USB-C. Perhaps, in the future, phones for the British market will come with a beautiful external dongle allowing backwards European and global USB-C devices to be used with our British USB-A sockets.

    • Jak says:

      11 Feb11 February 10:31

      Or perhaps in the future phones for the UK market will be wireless or share newer standards, where as the EU market will be constrained by outdated technology.

      • ChrisBCN says:

        11 Feb11 February 11:41

        Ummmm you know many phones are already wireless, right?

        • Jak says:

          11 Feb11 February 21:20

          If you look into the detail of the EU regulations, they don’t allow for full wireless – a USB C connection must be present.

      • Rui N. says:

        11 Feb11 February 11:59

        🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • Rui N. says:

    11 Feb11 February 12:00

    It’s ridiculous to say that USB-A is obsolete.

    • NFH says:

      11 Feb11 February 14:29

      It’s not ridiculous at all. USB-A is obsolete in the context of mobile phone charging. Can you name any smartphone that is currently supplied with a USB-A charging cable?

      • Londonsteve says:

        11 Feb11 February 15:08

        If USB-A isn’t still relevant why do I charge my iPhone with such a cable and my fairly new laptop only has USB-A ports on the side? USB sockets in my Nissan Leaf, a car considered fairly modern by dint of being fully electric are USB-A. I’ve never come across only a USB-C port when looking to plug in my standard USB cables.

      • DaveJ says:

        11 Feb11 February 15:45

        Maybe that’s because they want you to spend more money on another cable?

        Pretty obvious stuff really.

      • lumma says:

        11 Feb11 February 20:34

        The new OnePlus 11 comes with a type A to c cable

• The Jetset Boyz says:

  11 Feb11 February 10:02

  “there will no longer be any forward facing seating except at the very front and back”.

  The seats at the ends of the train have been removed and replaced with a flat narrow bench, and looks like they might not be wide enough for two adults to comfortably sit side by side. The operating consoles are taller, so when the Passenger Service Agents operate the train from them they’ll be standing, not sitting.

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    11 Feb11 February 12:11

    There are still proper seats in those locations.

• Trevor says:

  11 Feb11 February 10:21

  Thank goodness the Piccadilly Line trains will at last be replaced. They are just awful. Last weekend I noticed that the (very overcrowded) train I was in was manufactured in 1973 -so fifty years old!

  • lumma says:

    11 Feb11 February 11:16

    Apart from being new and you’ll have the ability to walk between carriages, they’ll not be any bigger.

    • VALittleRed says:

      11 Feb11 February 11:41

      Least they’ll be air-conditioned right?

    • ChrisBCN says:

      11 Feb11 February 11:44

      That’s misleading; there will be more space inside as (for example) you will be able to use the space between carriages, which is now two walls and a little outdoor space

      • ChrisBCN says:

        11 Feb11 February 11:47

        There is actually 10% more usable space in each train

        • lumma says:

          11 Feb11 February 20:36

          So less seats then?

  • PeteM says:

    11 Feb11 February 12:26

    You probably don’t want to know when the Bakerloo line trains were made! 🤣

    • PH says:

      14 Feb14 February 01:55

      Bakerloo line also 1973 IIRC, but no refurb in the 00s like the Piccadilly line !

  • Londonsteve says:

    11 Feb11 February 15:13

    Indeed, not a moment too soon. It’s a pity that the tubes serving London’s main airport are the oldest charabancs on the whole network, it must create a poor first impression for a lot of visitors. The fundamental design of the 73 stock is excellent and they’ve provided sterling service (and continue to do so, considering they’re 50 years old!) but the levels of comfort they (fail to) offer make them well past their use by date.

    • Amy C says:

      11 Feb11 February 16:26

      Bakerloo stock aren’t being replaced until 2036!

    • Rob says:

      11 Feb11 February 19:54

      They are deep tubes though. The new stock won’t be more spacious.

      Wi-fi is the big issue with the tube, except for the Jubilee Line extension. Shocking how most other global metros have a phone signal. I know it is rolling out very slowly now but it should have been done years ago.

      • ChrisBCN says:

        11 Feb11 February 21:13

        Rob, the new stock IS more spacious, by about 10%. It’s fact – somebody posted a link to IanVisits below which explains how. Primarily the wasted space between carriages is now useable.

        • Rob says:

          11 Feb11 February 21:31

          I meant (for the Picc stock) wider / higher, which it won’t be.

        • ChrisBCN says:

          11 Feb11 February 22:22

          But it WILL be wider and higher on the inside. Thinner walls and roofs with less gubbins stuck inside them bulking them out. Plus seat/door placements and size, carriage ends – that’s how you get 10% more capacity.

          I think you are talking about the external dimensions which obviously can’t change much.

      • David says:

        11 Feb11 February 21:28

        That’s the only drawback of the Liz Line. I’m very surprised they didn’t include it. I’ve happily had a phone signal for years on, among others, the HK MTR.

        • Londonsteve says:

          11 Feb11 February 23:52

          I remember being surprised to discover my phone ringing on the Budapest metro in 2001! The caller in the UK was staggered to discover I was on a tube. I will confess to feeling a little sad that the peace and quiet along with the enforced downtime will vanish off LU but it’s untenable in this day and age that there’s still no signal down there.

• BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

  11 Feb11 February 12:12

  Plenty more photos and write up here

  https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/take-a-sneak-peek-inside-the-dlrs-new-trains-60459/

• BuildBackBetter says:

  11 Feb11 February 13:10

  Are there any plans for replacing the stock of Central line? Fell sorry for those on the eastern stretch. Passengers must be provided with ear muffs.

  • PeteM says:

    11 Feb11 February 13:17

    Perhaps with a new government…

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.