Canning Town station

London stations
name = accessicon


caption = northern entrance to Canning Town station
manager = London Underground
zone = 3
locale = Canning Town
borough = London Borough of Newham
platforms= 4
tubeexits05 = 7.725
tubeexits07 = 8.099
owner=London Underground
years=1847
1994
1999
2005
2006
events=Opened
DLR branch to Beckton started
Jublilee Line started
DLR branch to King George V opened
North London Line service discontinued

Canning Town station is a major inter-modal transport interchange in East London. It is served by London Underground's Jubilee Line and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), as well as being served by local buses operated on behalf of London Buses. It is in Travelcard Zone 3.

Interchange complex

The interchange is above ground, but access is via an underground concourse stretching the width of the site and connected to all platforms and the bus station by escalators, stairs and lifts. To the west of the complex is a pair of island platforms, one immediately above the other. The lower (surface level) platforms are served by the Jubilee Line and the upper platforms by the DLR. Alongside and to the east of the Jubilee Line platforms is an island platform which was served by the North London Line until 9 December 2006 and alongside that is the bus station, which has an enclosed above-ground concourse with doors to the surrounding bus bays.

The interchange is situated on a north-south alignment, constrained by Bow Creek immediately to the west, Silvertown Way to the east, the A13 Canning Town Flyover, a major east-west road bridge crossing the Canning Town Roundabout at the throat of the station to the north, and the River Thames to the south.

The DLR branch to London City Airport opened on December 2 2005. This line diverges from the line to Beckton 1/4 mile south of the interchange, with trains from both branches serving the current platforms. The first station along this route is West Silvertown. In normal operation trains from Beckton run to Tower Gateway, and those from King George/City Airport run to Bank, both every 10 minutes with more frequent services at peak periods. When there are major exhibitions at the Excel Exhibition Centre an additional shuttle service runs every 10 minutes between Canning Town and Prince Regent. Approaching Canning Town station the shuttle trains are routed into the centre siding which is south of the station, to wait for a gap between Eastbound trains, and then enter and reverse in the Eastbound platform. It is normal when this is taking place for station staff to be deployed to guide passengers; normally the DLR platforms are unstaffed.

History

The Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway station was opened on the south side of the Barking Road in 1846, being moved to the north side of Barking Road (near Stephenson Street) in 1888. The booking hall was replaced in the 1960s, and survived until May 28 1994. On October 29 1995 a new North London Line station on the current site was opened.

The DLR station opened on March 28 1994, but was closed between June 6 1996 and March 5 1998 for the construction of the Jubilee Line extension. The Jubilee Line station opened on 14 May 1999. The North London Line platforms closed on December 9 2006, as part of the closure of the Stratford to North Woolwich section of the line.

On the station is a plaque commemorating the Thames Iron Works, which stood on this site. There is no memorial to the 38 people who died in the "Albion Disaster" of June 21 1898. Crowds rushed forward as the ship "The Albion" was being launched, and a bridge collapsed. The event is recorded in a poem by William McGonagall.

Future developments

The North London Line platforms will be redeveloped as part of the extension of the DLR from Canning Town to Stratford International via West Ham, which would see a more frequent service to Stratford, although passengers to NLL destinations beyond will have to change.

On the DLR City Airport extension there is a station planned south-east of here called Thames Wharf, depending mainly on the regeneration of the area.

External links

* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/transportaccessibility/dlr/3266.aspx Docklands Light Railway website - Canning Town station page]

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Future Development

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