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Docklands Light Railway : Stations : Canary Wharf

Line	Location	number of platforms
Lewisham	elevated	6 on 3 tracks

Canary Wharf station serves the huge Canary Wharf business development. This development is the largest single part of the Docklands redevelopment, providing much of the DLR's traffic. The main building, 1 Canada Square, is the tallest building in the UK and the second-tallest in Europe. The area is host to a number of banks and financial insitutions, and has become a financial centre second in importance in the country only to the City of London. The building of Canary Wharf prompted the DLR's Bank extension, to provide better links to the City.

Canary Wharf is the most substatial station on the DLR. Its trainshed spans 6 platform faces on three tracks, and the station is integrated the surrounding Cabot Place office and shopping complex. The platforms are at first floor level, and can be reached via lifts/escaltors from ground level, or by level access from the first floor of Cabot Place's shopping centre.

All three tracks have platform faces at either side, speeding up boarding and disembarking. Some trains from Bank or Stratford terminate here, while others continue to Crossharbour and Lewisham.

The original station at Canary Wharf was built with the rest of the initial system, but didn't open in 1987 as the decision had already been taken to rebuild the station, which was to be engulfed by the Canary Wharf office development. The station structure was instead dismantled, with parts used in the expansion of other stops, and the current stop was constructed on the site and opened in 1991. Interestingly, rather than reprogram the automatic train control software, trains initially stopped at Canary Wharf, even after the structure had been dismantled, although the doors weren't opened and the trains immediately started departed.

Pictures

Canary Wharf's overall trainshed, as seen from West India Quay station. On the left 60 enters at the rear of a Lewisham service; on the right 25 leaves for Bank; in the centre track 82 has just arrived on a terminating service

29/06/2005 • 001012

Inside Canary Wharf, looking northwards

08/06/2004 • 001013

Inside Canary Wharf, looking northwards

08/06/2004 • 001014

There are platform-level entrances to Canary Wharf from Cabot Place shopping centre to platforms 1 and 6

08/06/2004 • 001015

Ground level, underneath the platforms at Canary Wharf, showing the next train indicator and escalators to platform level. There are entrances to the street and to the adjacent Cabot Place shopping centre

08/06/2004 • 001016

Entrance to the DLR ground-level concourse at Canary Wharf from South Colonnade

08/06/2004 • 001017

The trainshed, platforms and viaduct of Canary Wharf station as seen from street level on South Colonnade

08/06/2004 • 001018

DLR Information point on platforms 4/5 at Canary Wharf

08/06/2004 • 001019

Each of the three tracks at Canary Wharf is served by two platforms, to speed up loading and unloading and passenger circulation. This photo shows a DLR train with doors open to platforms on both sides

08/06/2004 • 001020