The transition to a fully electric support fleet

Operating the Docklands Light Railway demands a fleet that runs around the clock, and Keolis Amey Docklands has now made that fleet fully electric. Simon Kidsley explains how the company has delivered a seamless transition from diesel to electric

Keolis Amey Docklands (KAD), responsible for operating and maintaining the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) network in London, has electrified its car and van fleet, four and a half years ahead of the contract deadline.

A legacy petrol and diesel fleet with demanding operational needs has been replaced with 39 electric vans and six electric cars, including vehicles that have typically been challenging to electrify, such as vans with tail lifts and flatbeds.

Here we speak to Simon Kidsley, fire and fleet assurance manager at KeolisAmey Docklands, to find out more.

Can you provide an overview of Keolis Amey Docklands’ fleet and how your vehicles are utilised?

The fleet is made up of 45 vehicles in total. Our car fleet consists of six Ford Gen-E Pumas and our 39 Vans are made up of Ford Transit E-Customs, E-Tourneos and E-Transits which are all under 3.5 tonnes. 

The fleet vehicles are used to support the running of the DLR on a 24-hour basis by carrying equipment and personnel to various different sites in and around the railway network.

When did your fleet decarbonisation journey start?

Our journey into the procurement of the new fleet started in January 2024 when we contacted one of suppliers who we had eight electric vehicles with at the time. We tasked them with providing details on manufacturers who could supply the entire range of EVs that we needed. We previously had three different manufactures and wanted to streamline our fleet to one manufacturer to make management of the vehicles as simple as possible. We currently have 28 new fleet vehicles.

What charging infrastructure have you implemented to support your electric vehicles?

We are currently expanding our charging infrastructure significantly. Alongside our existing four dual-connection chargers, we are in the process of installing an additional 25 new EV charge points to ensure our fleet has the capacity it needs as electrification accelerates.

What challenges have you encountered during your electrification journey?

Not every manufacturer could provide the entire range of vehicles we needed; we only found one manufacturer (Ford) who could provide the entire range to suit our requirements. We also needed to upgrade our charging infrastructure to cope with the increase in electric vehicles.

What are your future plans and priorities in relation to decarbonisation?

Keolis Amey Docklands 25 (KAD25) is committed to operating and maintaining the Docklands Light Railway in a way that supports a low-carbon, resilient, and environmentally responsible transport system. We recognise the environmental impacts of our operations and the importance of addressing these proactively to ensure long-term operational viability and contribute to a sustainable future.
KAD25 is actively implementing its Carbon Reduction Plan, which outlines clear pathways to achieving net zero emissions, and is delivering a suite of environmental improvement initiatives across the business. 

We are delivering our Carbon Reduction Plan, including targeted actions to reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and tracking progress against defined milestones.

The company is also improving energy efficiency across operations, including station and depot upgrades, fleet energy optimisation, and smart monitoring systems.

Finally, we are applying circular economy principles, prioritising reuse, recycling, recovering materials, and minimising waste generation.