Transport for LondonDLR Management
Privatisation
In 1991 the British Government announced that, from March 1992, responsibility of DLR would transfer to the umbrella of the London Docklands Development Corporation, sponsored by the Department of Environment.
In October 1994, the Secretary of State for the Environment made the announcement that 'the Government is to privatise the Docklands Light Railway in line with its 1992 Manifesto commitment'.
Agreement with Serco
The franchise was competitively tendered and, in April 1997, let for a period of seven years to Docklands Railway Management Limited, now Serco Docklands.
The franchise was let at a cost which enabled a reduction of over £32m to the required funding levels of DLR over the nine years of the initial franchise. Serco was subsequently awarded a new seven-year franchise in May 2006, following a competitive tender process.
In 1998 Serco decided that they would buy out the shares of the former DLR executive directors in Serco Docklands and this was achieved by the end of 1999.
Fees paid to Serco
Serco is paid a set fee for operating the railway to agreed levels of service and is entitled to part of the revenue received. Service standards and revenue entitlements are both agreed to during the franchise tender process.
Serco is also paid fees related to their performance against agreed targets, which increase over the period of the franchise. The targets cover:
- Base service departure
- Service reliability
- Facilities (lifts, escalators, ticket machines and information displays)
- Performance in quarterly customer satisfaction surveys
All of these targets carry financial rewards or penalties, depending on performance. Serco has consistently met or exceeded the vast majority of these targets.
DLR's role
DLR's role is to effectively manage the contract to ensure that services are properly provided and assets are properly maintained. As owner of the assets, DLR continues to develop the railway through a number of capital works projects.
As part of the franchise agreement, Serco can be asked to assist in project management. Serco also has the opportunity to put forward and fund capital projects which may improve the efficiency of operation or maintenance.
There have been a number of projects in this capacity, including improvements to signalling operation and train wash facilities.
DLR is supported by two concessionaires who have designed, financed, built and maintained the two most recent extensions to the DLR network.
- City Greenwich Lewisham (CGL) Rail manage the Lewisham extension
- City Airport Rail Enterprises (CARE) manage the London City Airport extension
- Woolwich Arsenal Rail Enterprises (WARE) manage the new DLR Woolwich Arsenal extension
View the DLR Franchise Agreement with Serco Docklands (PDF 539KB)
Schedules
- Schedule 1 - Grant of franchise (PDF 219KB)
- Schedule 2 - Passenger services (PDF 195KB)
- Schedule 3 - Tickets/Ticketing schemes (PDF 234KB)
- Schedule 4 - Maintenance of franchise assets (PDF 300KB)
- Schedule 5 - Capital projects (PDF 844KB)
- Schedule 6 - General regulatory (PDF 88KB)
- Schedule 7 - Provision of information (PDF 725KB)
- Schedule 8 - Remuneration (PDF 51KB)
- Schedule 9 - Financial requirements (PDF 22KB)
- Schedule 10 - Handback of franchise (PDF 497KB)
- Schedule 11 - Dispute resolution procedure (PDF 254KB)
- Schedule 12 - Documents (PDF 5.1MB)
- Schedule 13 - Franchisee confidential information (PDF 10KB)
- Schedule 16 - Committed obligation (PDF 47KB)
- Schedule 17 - Agreed Policies/Plans (PDF 83KB)
Concession agreements
