DLRL (Docklands Light Railway Limited) awarded a 30 year concession to design, build, finance and maintain the extension to Woolwich Arsenal to a joint venture company formed by AMEC plc and the Royal Bank of Scotland, known as Woolwich Arsenal Railway Enterprises (WARE). This procurement was previously used for the DLR extensions to Lewisham (1999) and London City Airport (2005). Construction of the King George V to Woolwich Arsenal extension began in June 2005. A 540 tonne boring machine was used to tunnel under the Thames from north of the river, breaking through on the south in July 2007.

SWGR provided experienced rail welding crews to get the actual rail link up and running. Welding to a strict and very tight timescale on an extremely challenging project, our teams produced over 300 welds through the tunnel section alone, which joined Woolwich with the King George V station. Over the course of the process, quality remained high and the client was delighted with the outcome.

On the weekend of 25/26 October 2008 test trains began operating between the new extension and the existing railway to allow changes to the DLR's Automatic Train Control System to be commissioned. After successful simulations the new Woolwich Arsenal station was opened for passenger use on 10 January 2009, over a month earlier than the scheduled contract date.