Canning Town station

Location

A major interchange in East London, it is 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, while directly next to the River Lea.

History

The first station, originally named Barking Road, was opened on 14 June 1847 by the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway on the south side of Barking Road in the Parish of West Ham. It was renamed Canning Town on 1 July 1873, and in 1888, this station was closed, being replaced by a new station on the north side of Barking Road (near Stephenson Street). The booking hall was replaced in the 1960s, and survived until 28 May 1994. The station was served by trains on the North London line to North Woolwich.

Jubilee Line Extension and Docklands Light Railway

In the late 1980s, plans for the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) extension to Beckton considered various options - either running directly east/west between Blackwall and Royal Victoria, or following the River Lea to call at Canning Town. In the early 1990s, the planned Jubilee Line Extension station on the site meant that the dedicated DLR station was not built, with a combined interchange station to be built instead. The DLR extension to Beckton began running through the future station site in March 1994.

The new station was built on the south side of the A13, designed by Troughton McAslan. The tiered design of the station placed the DLR platforms directly above the Jubilee line platforms allowing for easy interchange. A substantial bus station was also built as part of the station complex.

On 29 October 1995, the first part of the new station opened, serving the North London Line. The DLR platforms opened on 5 March 1998. With the opening of the Jubilee line platforms on 14 May 1999, the new station complex was complete and officially 'opened'.

The DLR branch to London City Airport opened on 2 December 2005. This branch diverges from the branch to Beckton 0.25 mi south of the interchange, with trains from both branches serving the current platforms.

Stratford International DLR extension

The North London Line platforms closed on 9 December 2006 as part of the closure of the to section of the line. On 31 August 2011 these platforms re-opened on the new Stratford International branch of the Docklands Light Railway.

In October 2019, the station was disrupted by Extinction Rebellion (XR) protests, causing the suspension of services at rush hour. During the protest, two XR members climbed on top of a Jubilee line train, one of whom appeared to kick commuters who were attempting to remove them. The growing crowd proceeded to throw objects at the protesters before a commuter grabbed them by the ankles and dragged them off the train and onto the platform, where a physical altercation took place.

Design

Designed by Troughton McAslan, the station is connected by an underground concourse stretching the width of the site and connected to all platforms and the bus station by escalators, stairs and lifts. The station is fully accessible, with step-free access throughout.

To the west of the complex two island platforms are one above the other. The lower level island platform (platforms 5 & 6) is served by the Jubilee line and the higher level island platform (platforms 3 &4) is served by the DLR branch to/from Poplar. To the east of the Jubilee platforms on the same level, an island platform (platforms 1 & 2) is served by the Stratford International branch of the DLR. This platform was formerly served by the North London line.

Adjacent to Silvertown Way, on the eastern side of the interchange is a bus station with seven stands, with an enclosed above-ground concourse with doors to the surrounding bus bays. The bus station is fully connected to the DLR and Underground platforms via the underground concourse.

As well as entrances onto Silvertown Way and Barking Road, an entrance facing Bow Creek allows access to London City Island via the Leamouth Lifting Footbridge, Bow Creek Ecology Park and the Limmo Peninsula. This entrance was built as part of the Jubilee Line Extension project in the late 1990s, but opened in 2016.

Artwork

Carved into the walls of a station staircase, an artwork by Richard Kindersley commemorates the Thames Iron Works, which previously stood on the site. It was unveiled in February 1998 by then-Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, who grew up in the local area.

Services

London Underground

The typical off-peak London Underground (Jubilee line) service in trains per hour from Canning Town is:

• 24 tph to
• 4 tph to
• 4 tph to Willesden Green
• 4 tph to Wembley Park
• 12 tph to Stanmore

Additional services call at the station during the peak hours, increasing the service to up to 30 tph in each direction.

The Jubilee line also operates a night service on Friday and Saturday nights as part of the Night Tube with a 6 tph service between Stratford and Stanmore.

DLR

The typical off-peak DLR service in trains per hour from Canning Town is:

• 6 tph to Tower Gateway
• 6 tph to Bank
• 6 tph to
• 12 tph to Beckton
• 12 tph to

Additional services call at the station during the peak hours, increasing the service to up to 16 tph to Beckton and Woolwich Arsenal and up to 8 tph to Tower Gateway, Bank and Stratford International.

Connections

The station is served by day and nighttime London Buses routes.

References

References

1. {{Citation step free tube map
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5. {{harvnb. Butt. 1995
6. {{harvnb. Butt. 1995
7. (1997). "Starting from Scratch - the development of transport in London Docklands (1997) Part II: The Detailed Story". [[London Docklands Development Corporation]].
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17. (2019-10-17). "Climate protesters dragged from Tube train". BBC News.
18. Mackintosh, Jessie Yeung,Eliza. (2019-10-17). "Angry commuters drag Extinction Rebellion protesters off trains during London travel disruption".
19. (June 2016). "Docklands Light Railway extension marks one year to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games".
20. Morton, Sophie. (23 November 2015). "Canning Town set for new station entrance".
21. "Canning Town Underground {{!}} Richard Kindersley Studio".
22. Kindersley, Richard. "Kindersley, Richard (5 of 12) National Life Stories Collection: Crafts' Lives - Crafts - Oral history - British Library - Sounds".
23. (2013-04-11). "96. The memorial at Canning Town".
24. (December 1998). "Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society - Notes and news – December 1998".
25. "Jubilee line timetable". [[Transport for London]].
26. [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/07/jubilee-line-joins-londons-busier-than-expected-night-tube Jubilee line joins London's busier than expected night tube. UK news. The Guardian]
27. "DLR train timetables". [[Transport for London]].
28. (21 May 2022). "Buses from Canning Town".