It’s good to get out of the office occasionally and see the infrastructure for London 2012 taking shape. On Wednesday, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) team showed a few of us from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) Transport team around some of its project sites. As well as improving transport connections generally in east London, these latest DLR projects will help thousands of people get to the Games more easily.

Our first stop was the DLR station under construction at Woolwich Arsenal, which will serve the Shooting events at the The Royal Artillery Barracks. The station is large for the DLR. It spans three levels and will be staffed and gated. It will also give step-free access to the main line Southeastern station. The DLR extension from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal via the new Thames tunnel is due to open in early 2009.

Me at Woolwich Arsenal:

Next stop, the Olympic Park area. Stratford International Station used to sit in splendid isolation in a sea of dereliction. Now it’s in the middle of vast building site.

It’s not only the Olympic Park that’s under construction here. A Bluewater-size shopping development is well underway between Stratford International and Stratford Regional Station. Stratford Regional Station itself is being substantially rebuilt and enlarged through an investment of more than £100m from the ODA.

Work taking place at Stratford International:



Add to this a new DLR line connecting the two stations with a below-ground station at Stratford International and a new section of mainline railway to new north London Line platforms at Stratford Regional, it’s clear that this is a huge, multi-faceted project.

We were bussed around the site, stopping to peruse various areas and talk with project managers. Site security was tight and safety paramount. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be worn, including hard hats, toe-tector boots, gloves and glasses – which did a good job keeping the dust out!

Work progress is remarkable and the difference from just a few months ago is impressive. I’m going to try and get out to site every three months to keep tabs on this incredible (and I use the word intentionally) undertaking.