Pic: TfL

Serco Docklands Ltd has secured an 18-month concession extension worth £100m to operate and maintain the Docklands Light Railway after a record-breaking summer of service.

The concession renewal has been granted by Transport for London and will start from this April, ending in September 2014. The extension will maintain the same terms as the original contract from 2006.

David Stretch, managing director of Serco Docklands said: “We are extremely proud to have been awarded an extension to the Docklands contract. Serco has proved itself a trusted partner to Transport for London for over 15 years.”

As part of a franchise agreement, Serco will be operating the railway and maintain rolling stock on behalf of TFL. They have been operating the line since 1997 excluding Lewisham, Woolwich, and Stratford International stations, which are maintained separately.

Jonathan Fox, director at DLR said: “I am pleased to announce the extension of this contract and the continuation of a successful working partnership that has seen the DLR expand its network, increase its capacity by 50 per cent and successfully meet the challenge of the Olympics, when the network carried 100 per cent more customers than normal.”

During the 2012 games, Serco achieved 99 per cent reliability by introducing three-car trains on all routes, and has been named Light Rail Operator of the Year.