New DLR trains withdrawn over faulty brakes

Three new trains are being withdrawn already

Docklands Light Railway (DLR) trains introduced just six weeks ago have been withdrawn after it emerged the brakes are not working properly.

One of the new automated B23 trains overshot a platform leading to three services being removed. Engineers were "analysing what the specific root cause of the incident was", according to Transport for London (TfL).

The trains, which were due to be introduced in April 2024, started appearing in early October.

Scott Haxton, TfL's director of capital delivery infrastructure, said: "There's been no injuries or any negative impact to our customers, it was an isolated incident. The timetable is operating as it was."

He added: "From a customer service point of view, it's very much business as usual.

"Introducing new rolling stock onto any operational railway is incredibly complex... and it's not unusual to experience sort of performance related issues as they are bedding into the new network."

TfL denied it was embarrassing and did not say when the new trains will be fixed but has apologised.

It added that old stock will be used to fill the gaps on the light railway, which carries 340,000 passengers a day.

A reduced timetable is operating after one fifth of the DLR's 90 trains, some of which had been operating since the early 1990s, were retired in the summer - but there should be 54 new trains by the end of next year.

The B23 stock carriages are air-conditioned, have mobile device charging points and dedicated spaces for wheelchair users.

The trains, which are being built by the Spanish company CAF, have walk-through carriages and are due to increase capacity by 50%.

At the time of the launch, the mayor of London said the new trains would "significantly improve reliability and support growth in new homes and jobs, particularly for Londoners in areas like Stratford, Woolwich Arsenal and the Isle of Dogs".