Transport for LondonConstruction
The original plan was for the railway to serve Mile End, but the London Docklands Development Corporation's (LDDC'S) preference for automatic operation and a third rail for power supply - instead of overhead cables - influenced the decision to serve Stratford.
Terminating at Mile End would have involved street running, which is incompatible with automatic operation. This option also would have risked inevitable service delays due to traffic congestion.
To aid construction a new procedure was adopted and a single bidder, GEC-Mowlem Railway Group, won the contract to design, build and equip the railway.
This way much of the contractual risk fell on the contractor not the clients.
GEC-Mowlem Railway Group proposed to use standard gauge, steel wheel on steel rail technology. This was a well-tried, conventional approach, which would enable them to use disused railway routes in the area.
Cost effectiveness was all-important and new technologies, such as monorails, guided buses and rubber-tyred trains, were considered but rejected.
A network of conventional bus routes was also rejected, as a railway was deemed more attractive and better able to meet the rising demands that redevelopment of Docklands was likely to generate.
