Skip to main content

KeolisAmey reappointed to operate London's automated rail system

New eight-year €140m deal from Transport for London to run Docklands Light Railway
By Adam Hill October 7, 2024 Read time: 2 mins
The DLR has 40km of track and 45 stations and carries around 100 million passengers per year (© Anizza | Dreamstime.com)

Transport for London (TfL) has reappointed KeolisAmey to operate and maintain its automated metro network in the UK capital. 

The driverless Docklands Light Railway (DLR) opened in 1987 to cover a redeveloped docks area in the east of the city, and KeolisAmey - a joint venture between Keolis and Amey - began operating it in December 2014.

The new eight-year contract is worth around €140 million in revenue and will begin on 1 April 2025.

The DLR has 40km of track and 45 stations and carries around 100 million passengers per year.

Marie-Ange Debon, chairwoman of the Keolis Executive Board, says she is "proud of the role we have played over the past decade, setting records for ridership and customer satisfaction".

“The new DLR contract allows us to build on our work, operating one of the capital’s busiest rail networks, bringing new technologies onboard to improve passengers’ experiences and give back to local communities," adds Andy Milner, CEO of Amey.

"With new trains, greater innovation, a core commitment to decarbonising and a focus on safety for both customers and colleagues, it’s a really important time for the DLR," comments Tom Page, TfL’s general manager for DLR.

KeolisAmey says it will support TfL in introducing 54 new trains to the network, adding new timetables with increased service frequency, and deploying AI-based tech to improve passenger safety in stations and manage footfall during major events.

Keolis operates a dozen automated metro networks, including the world’s longest - in Dubai - which has 280km of lines in operation or under construction.

The first automated metro launched in 1983 in Lille, France.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Milton Keynes to trial wirelessly charged electric buses
    September 26, 2012
    In an initiative to enable the quieter, cleaner future of public transport in Milton Keynes, UK, eight organisations led by a subsidiary of Mitsui Europe ("Mitsui") have agreed a five-year collaboration committing to the replacement of diesel buses with their all-electric counterparts on one of the main bus routes in the city by summer 2013. The trial, which could reduce bus running costs by between US$19,500 and US$23,000 per year, is a partnership between Mitsui subsidiary eFleet Integrated Service, Milto
  • Major US toll contract for Q-Free
    September 23, 2013
    Q-Free is to implement its enhanced imaging processing (EIP) solution for the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX), USA in a contract worth around US$6.9 million. EIP utilises automatic licence plate reader (ALPR) and vehicle signature recognition (VSR) software and enables toll authorities to achieve high automation and low error rates using artificial intelligence and self learning capabilities. The system interfaces with existing toll road back office systems, minimising operational cost, errors, an
  • Pioneering new passenger information systems
    February 3, 2012
    Chicago pioneers new passenger information initiatives. By David Crawford
  • Seleta Reynolds: 'Set a vision, listen to your people & then get out of their way'
    September 12, 2022
    Los Angeles, host of the 2022 ITS World Congress, is a city where the only constant is change, says Seleta Reynolds of LA Metro. Adam Hill finds out about leadership, dream jobs and the 2028 Olympics...