The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system that serves the London Docklands area of east and south-east London. First opened on 31 August 1987, the DLR was a key component in the regeneration of large areas of disused industrial land into valuable commercial and residential districts. [1]
The system been extended multiple times, and now reaches north to Stratford, south to Lewisham, west to Tower Gateway and Bank in the City of London financial district, and east to Beckton, London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal.
Stations are in the City of London and the boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich and Lewisham with the majority of the network north of the River Thames. Of the 45 stations, four are underground: Woolwich Arsenal, Island Gardens, Bank and Cutty Sark (for Maritime Greenwich).
Listed for each station is the branch or branches it is on, the local authority, the London Travelcard zone in which it is located, interchanges with other modes of transport, the opening date and any resiting.
Four stations have direct interchanges with London Underground lines: Bank (Central, Circle, District, Northern and Waterloo & City), Canning Town (Jubilee), West Ham (Hammersmith & City, Jubilee and District lines) and Stratford (Central and Jubilee). There are indirect interchanges at Canary Wharf and Heron Quays (for Jubilee line from Canary Wharf), Bow Church (for District and Hammersmith & City lines from Bow Road) and Tower Gateway (for Circle and District lines from Tower Hill). There are interchanges with London Overground at Stratford (direct) and Shadwell (indirect). There are interchanges with National Rail at Greenwich, Lewisham, Limehouse, Woolwich Arsenal, Stratford, West Ham and Stratford International. [2]
There are currently two planned projects that will add stations to the DLR network - a new station at Thames Wharf and an extension to Thamesmead.
Station | Local Authority | Other names [note 4] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Thames Wharf [36] | Newham | Thameside West [36] | Safeguarded as part of the London City Airport extension, [37] the site is currently being used for Silvertown Tunnel construction. Following completion of the tunnel in 2025, 5,000 new homes and a DLR station will be built. [36] |
Beckton Riverside [38] | Newham | Armada Riverside [39] | A planned extension of the DLR to Thamesmead, first formally proposed in 2020. As of January 2021 [update] , feasibility and technical work is underway. [38] [40] Beckton Riverside was previously proposed as part of the cancelled Dagenham Dock extension. |
Thamesmead [38] | Greenwich | Thamesmead Central [38] |
As part of the development of the Docklands Light Railway, several sites were safeguarded for future station construction, some of which have been implemented.
Previously safeguarded
Two stations were safeguarded as part of the initial construction of the railway in the 1980s. [41]
No longer proposed
Currently proposed
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system primarily serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London and providing a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of London. First opened on 31 August 1987, the DLR has been extended multiple times, giving a total route length of 38 km. Lines now reach north to Stratford, south to Lewisham, west to Tower Gateway and Bank in the City of London financial district, and east to Beckton, London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal. Further extensions are being considered.
The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between Stratford in east London and Stanmore in the suburban north-west, via the Docklands, South Bank and West End. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the Underground network, although some sections of track date back to 1932 and some stations to 1879.
Woolwich Arsenal station is a National Rail and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) paired interchange station in the heart of Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It has two parts; its raised, south-western part of the station is on the semi-slow, commuter service, corollary of the North Kent Line and also in its Dartford Loop services section between London and Dartford, run by Southeastern. Regular services beyond Dartford are to the Medway Towns, which start/finish in the opposite direction at Luton via the City of London, West Hampstead and St Albans. Its other part is the terminus of its own branch of the DLR, run by Transport for London.
Canary Wharf is a London Underground station at Canary Wharf and is on the Jubilee line, between Canada Water and North Greenwich stations. The station is located in Travelcard Zone 2 and was opened on 17 September 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension. Over 40 million people pass through the station each year, making it second busiest on the London Underground outside Central London after Stratford, and also the busiest that serves only a single line.
Canning Town is a London Underground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and London Buses station in Canning Town in London, England. It is designed as an intermodal metro and bus station, fully opening in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension - replacing the original station site north of the A13. On 11 November 2015, the Mayor of London announced that it would be rezoned to be on the boundary of Travelcard Zone 2 and Travelcard Zone 3.
Stratford is a major multi-level railway station serving the district of Stratford and the mixed-use development known as Stratford City, in the London Borough of Newham, east London. It is served by the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and is also a National Rail station on the West Anglia Main Line and the Great Eastern Main Line, 4 miles 3 chains (6.5 km) from Liverpool Street.
"Where the JLE went wrong". Construction News. 4 February 1999. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
Custom House is a railway station on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) – on which it is branded Custom House for ExCeL – and on the Elizabeth line, by the Royal Docks, in Custom House in the London Borough of Newham, London, England. It is situated in Travelcard Zone 3. It takes its name from the old Custom House, which formerly stood nearby, and ExCeL London which it serves.
Beckton is the eastern terminus of the Beckton branch of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in the Docklands area of east London. It is in Travelcard Zone 3.
Poplar is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Poplar in London, England. Poplar is a cross-platform interchange station for three of the six lines on the DLR making it one of the busiest stations on the network in terms of services. It is also nearby the Canary Wharf Station on Crossrail's Elizabeth Line.
Royal Victoria DLR station is on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in Canning Town, east London. The station opened in 1994 and is named after the nearby Royal Victoria Dock. It is on the DLR's Beckton branch, in Travelcard Zone 3, and is the nearest station for the northern terminus of the IFS Cloud Cable Car and for London's new City Hall.
Beckton is a suburb in east London, England, located 8 miles (12.9 km) east of Charing Cross and part of the London Borough of Newham. Adjacent to the River Thames, the area consisted of unpopulated marshland known as the East Ham Levels in the parishes of Barking, East Ham, West Ham and Woolwich. The development of major industrial infrastructure in the 19th century to support the growing metropolis of London caused an increase in population with housing built in the area for workers of the Beckton Gas Works and Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. The area has a convoluted local government history and has formed part of Greater London since 1965. Between 1981 and 1995 it was within the London Docklands Development Corporation area, which caused the population to increase as new homes were built and the Docklands Light Railway was constructed.
Silvertown railway station was on the North London Line (NLL) serving the Silvertown area of east London, the station and the eastern section of the line it was on were closed in 2006. It was situated between Custom House and North Woolwich, the eastern terminus of the line.
West Silvertown is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Silvertown which opened in December 2005. It is located on the Woolwich Arsenal branch. Trains run Westbound to Bank in the City of London and Eastbound to Woolwich Arsenal, passing through London City Airport station.
North Woolwich railway station in North Woolwich in east London was the eastern terminus of the North London Line. The station closed in 2006, to allow for the North London line between Stratford and Canning Town to be converted to Docklands Light Railway (DLR) operation. The local area is now served by the nearby King George V DLR station. The historic station building was Grade II-listed in 1998.
Poplar Depot, also known as the Operations and Maintenance Centre (OMC), is the secondary depot and headquarters for the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). It is located adjacent to Poplar DLR station, in Poplar, London.
Thames Wharf is a planned Docklands Light Railway station in the Royal Docks, East London. The station name was previously proposed for another station in the area.
Beckton Depot is the primary railway maintenance depot for the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).
The Docklands Light Railway extension to Thamesmead is a proposed Docklands Light Railway (DLR) extension to serve the Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead redevelopment areas of East London.
Beckton was an authorised railway station planned by London Underground but never built. It was to be located in Beckton in the London Borough of Newham, in east London as a station on an unbuilt extension of the Jubilee line. It would have been the terminus of a branch from Custom House adjacent to a planned depot for the line.