diamond geezer

 Friday, February 08, 2019

Anorak Corner [DLR edition]

It's time to scrutinise TfL's latest splurge of passenger data for the Docklands Light Railway. Tube and bus totals they publish every year, but DLR usage has to be prised out of them via a Freedom of Information Request. Figures are for total entries and exits during the calendar year 2018.

The DLR's ten busiest stations (2018) (with changes since 2013)
  1) -- Bank (30m)
  2)
-- Canning Town (26m)
  3)
↑1 Stratford (20m)
  4)
↓1 Canary Wharf (18m)
  5)
-- Woolwich Arsenal (15m)
  6)
-- Lewisham (10m)
  7)
↑1 Shadwell (8.0m)
  8)
↑1 Heron Quays (7.9m)
  9)
↓2 Limehouse (7.8m)
10)
-- Cutty Sark (7.2m)

Bank is the most used DLR station, which is good going for two cramped platforms shoehorned under the City of London. Tower Gateway is 14th, for comparison. In second place is Canning Town, the railhead where passengers on the Beckton and Woolwich branches switch to the Jubilee line. Three-quarters of Canning Town's DLR passengers use the high-level platforms, and one-quarter use the lowly satellite. Stratford is in third place, having crept decisively ahead of Canary Wharf over the last five years. Back in 2013 passenger usage at Stratford's two sets of DLR platforms was evenly split, but the lower platforms are now two million ahead.

Woolwich Arsenal and Lewisham's high rankings confirm the popularity of cross-river connections. The other far-flung terminus, Beckton, barely scrapes the Top 30. Shadwell, Heron Quays and Limehouse are very close in terms of ridership, so don't read too much into their relative positions. Cutty Sark is the highest ranked DLR station not to interchange with any other railway line. 2018's Top 10 is exactly the same as five years ago, just in a different order. Since 2013 the biggest increase in passengers has been at Stratford International, thanks to the East Village growing up nearby.

The DLR's ten least busy stations (2018) (with changes since 2013)
  1) -- Beckton Park (715,000)
  2)
-- Pudding Mill Lane (907,000)
  3)
↑4 Abbey Road (1.20m)
  4)
↓1 Stratford High Street (1.22m)
  5)
-- Gallions Reach (1.42m)
  6)
-- Star Lane (1.43m)
  7)
↑4 West India Quay (1.47m)
  8)
↑9 Cyprus (1.53m)
  9)
↑3 King George V (1.61m)
10)
↓1 West Silvertown (1.86m)

Beckton Park, three stops before Beckton, remains the least used DLR station. Every London tube station is busier. Pudding Mill Lane is the other DLR station with fewer than a million passengers annually (despite having been rebuilt as the largest station on the network). Abbey Road, Stratford High Street and Star Lane are all on the Stratford International branch, bypassed by the Jubilee line, and not especially busy. Most of the least used stations are on the fringes of Newham - none are south of the river. Back in 2013 Pontoon Dock was the 4th least-used station, but it's now well outside this Top 10 thanks to the development of dense new housing alongside.

The Least Used DLR Station: Beckton Park

There's are good reasons why Beckton Park is the least used DLR station, including that it's not quite near enough to Beckton and too close to a park. The park stretches down to the next station, Royal Albert, and cuts off most of the nearest housing in Beckton proper. Only a few residential cul-de-sacs extend along the road to the east, towards Cyprus, so the catchment area isn't particularly large. Strait Road, the only connecting street, is the very definition of bleak, with several signs apologising for pavement subsidence. It's not an ideal spot to walk to after dark.



Beckton Park and Cyprus are very similar stations in terms of design, each constructed within a roundabout on the elevated Royal Albert Way. A footbridge spans the platforms, which are semi-circular and feel like stepping down into a bowl. What's peculiar is that neither of these roundabouts are linked up to any other roads, and no connection has been made between road and station levels. Bright blue signs announce the name of the station to passing drivers, but there is no way to get down there, nor any place to stop.

At least Cyprus station is connected to the University of East London's Docklands Campus, the one with pepperpot student accommodation. At Beckton Park the entire southern side of the station is completely cut off, there being no public access to half a mile of dockfront immediately adjacent to the station. That's because the industrial units which were previously here have been swept away in readiness for the construction of one of London's largest development sites, the one hardly anybody ever mentions - ABP Royal Albert Dock.



The developers here are Chinese, their hope that a thin waterside strip the size of 35 football pitches will be transformed into a thriving international commercial hub with a particular emphasis on office space for Asian businesses. Two listed buildings have been retained - the Central Buffet and Dockmaster's Office - but everything else will be rigidly formulaic blocky offices, packed in tight for maximum profitability. Look across the water from City Airport over the the next few years and a monolithic wall of multi-storey uniformity will stare back.

This may be a long-term project but the first buildings have already shot up along the waterfront closest to Beckton Park station, which will eventually become the gateway to this new commercial district. I accidentally walked out towards the worksite and found myself in a funnelled passageway liberally pasted with posters saying No Spitting Red Card Offense amid a stream of foreign workers who thankfully weren't doing that, and politely retreated.



The hoardings around the development include an artist's impression of what the DLR station will look like when RAD is complete. The station swarms with smart folk in businesswear or sports attire. A ring of coffee shops and sushi bars has sprung up inside what are currently gloomy recesses, and a central promenade stretches off between glassy offices towards the dockside. One day Beckton Park station may be a thronging commercial hub fizzing with international possibility, and hugely busier... but until then it's bottom of the heap every year, guaranteed.


<< click for Newer posts

click for Older Posts >>


click to return to the main page


...or read more in my monthly archives
Jan24  Feb24  Mar24  Apr24
Jan23  Feb23  Mar23  Apr23  May23  Jun23  Jul23  Aug23  Sep23  Oct23  Nov23  Dec23
Jan22  Feb22  Mar22  Apr22  May22  Jun22  Jul22  Aug22  Sep22  Oct22  Nov22  Dec22
Jan21  Feb21  Mar21  Apr21  May21  Jun21  Jul21  Aug21  Sep21  Oct21  Nov21  Dec21
Jan20  Feb20  Mar20  Apr20  May20  Jun20  Jul20  Aug20  Sep20  Oct20  Nov20  Dec20
Jan19  Feb19  Mar19  Apr19  May19  Jun19  Jul19  Aug19  Sep19  Oct19  Nov19  Dec19
Jan18  Feb18  Mar18  Apr18  May18  Jun18  Jul18  Aug18  Sep18  Oct18  Nov18  Dec18
Jan17  Feb17  Mar17  Apr17  May17  Jun17  Jul17  Aug17  Sep17  Oct17  Nov17  Dec17
Jan16  Feb16  Mar16  Apr16  May16  Jun16  Jul16  Aug16  Sep16  Oct16  Nov16  Dec16
Jan15  Feb15  Mar15  Apr15  May15  Jun15  Jul15  Aug15  Sep15  Oct15  Nov15  Dec15
Jan14  Feb14  Mar14  Apr14  May14  Jun14  Jul14  Aug14  Sep14  Oct14  Nov14  Dec14
Jan13  Feb13  Mar13  Apr13  May13  Jun13  Jul13  Aug13  Sep13  Oct13  Nov13  Dec13
Jan12  Feb12  Mar12  Apr12  May12  Jun12  Jul12  Aug12  Sep12  Oct12  Nov12  Dec12
Jan11  Feb11  Mar11  Apr11  May11  Jun11  Jul11  Aug11  Sep11  Oct11  Nov11  Dec11
Jan10  Feb10  Mar10  Apr10  May10  Jun10  Jul10  Aug10  Sep10  Oct10  Nov10  Dec10 
Jan09  Feb09  Mar09  Apr09  May09  Jun09  Jul09  Aug09  Sep09  Oct09  Nov09  Dec09
Jan08  Feb08  Mar08  Apr08  May08  Jun08  Jul08  Aug08  Sep08  Oct08  Nov08  Dec08
Jan07  Feb07  Mar07  Apr07  May07  Jun07  Jul07  Aug07  Sep07  Oct07  Nov07  Dec07
Jan06  Feb06  Mar06  Apr06  May06  Jun06  Jul06  Aug06  Sep06  Oct06  Nov06  Dec06
Jan05  Feb05  Mar05  Apr05  May05  Jun05  Jul05  Aug05  Sep05  Oct05  Nov05  Dec05
Jan04  Feb04  Mar04  Apr04  May04  Jun04  Jul04  Aug04  Sep04  Oct04  Nov04  Dec04
Jan03  Feb03  Mar03  Apr03  May03  Jun03  Jul03  Aug03  Sep03  Oct03  Nov03  Dec03
 Jan02  Feb02  Mar02  Apr02  May02  Jun02  Jul02 Aug02  Sep02  Oct02  Nov02  Dec02 

jack of diamonds
Life viewed from London E3

» email me
» follow me on twitter
» follow the blog on Twitter
» follow the blog on RSS

» my flickr photostream

twenty blogs
our bow
arseblog
ian visits
londonist
broken tv
blue witch
on london
the great wen
edith's streets
spitalfields life
linkmachinego
round the island
wanstead meteo
christopher fowler
the greenwich wire
bus and train user
ruth's coastal walk
round the rails we go
london reconnections
from the murky depths

quick reference features
Things to do in Outer London
Things to do outside London
Inner London toilet map
20 years of blog series
The DG Tour of Britain
London's most...

read the archive
Apr24  Mar24  Feb24  Jan24
Dec23  Nov23  Oct23  Sep23
Aug23  Jul23  Jun23  May23
Apr23  Mar23  Feb23  Jan23
Dec22  Nov22  Oct22  Sep22
Aug22  Jul22  Jun22  May22
Apr22  Mar22  Feb22  Jan22
Dec21  Nov21  Oct21  Sep21
Aug21  Jul21  Jun21  May21
Apr21  Mar21  Feb21  Jan21
Dec20  Nov20  Oct20  Sep20
Aug20  Jul20  Jun20  May20
Apr20  Mar20  Feb20  Jan20
Dec19  Nov19  Oct19  Sep19
Aug19  Jul19  Jun19  May19
Apr19  Mar19  Feb19  Jan19
Dec18  Nov18  Oct18  Sep18
Aug18  Jul18  Jun18  May18
Apr18  Mar18  Feb18  Jan18
Dec17  Nov17  Oct17  Sep17
Aug17  Jul17  Jun17  May17
Apr17  Mar17  Feb17  Jan17
Dec16  Nov16  Oct16  Sep16
Aug16  Jul16  Jun16  May16
Apr16  Mar16  Feb16  Jan16
Dec15  Nov15  Oct15  Sep15
Aug15  Jul15  Jun15  May15
Apr15  Mar15  Feb15  Jan15
Dec14  Nov14  Oct14  Sep14
Aug14  Jul14  Jun14  May14
Apr14  Mar14  Feb14  Jan14
Dec13  Nov13  Oct13  Sep13
Aug13  Jul13  Jun13  May13
Apr13  Mar13  Feb13  Jan13
Dec12  Nov12  Oct12  Sep12
Aug12  Jul12  Jun12  May12
Apr12  Mar12  Feb12  Jan12
Dec11  Nov11  Oct11  Sep11
Aug11  Jul11  Jun11  May11
Apr11  Mar11  Feb11  Jan11
Dec10  Nov10  Oct10  Sep10
Aug10  Jul10  Jun10  May10
Apr10  Mar10  Feb10  Jan10
Dec09  Nov09  Oct09  Sep09
Aug09  Jul09  Jun09  May09
Apr09  Mar09  Feb09  Jan09
Dec08  Nov08  Oct08  Sep08
Aug08  Jul08  Jun08  May08
Apr08  Mar08  Feb08  Jan08
Dec07  Nov07  Oct07  Sep07
Aug07  Jul07  Jun07  May07
Apr07  Mar07  Feb07  Jan07
Dec06  Nov06  Oct06  Sep06
Aug06  Jul06  Jun06  May06
Apr06  Mar06  Feb06  Jan06
Dec05  Nov05  Oct05  Sep05
Aug05  Jul05  Jun05  May05
Apr05  Mar05  Feb05  Jan05
Dec04  Nov04  Oct04  Sep04
Aug04  Jul04  Jun04  May04
Apr04  Mar04  Feb04  Jan04
Dec03  Nov03  Oct03  Sep03
Aug03  Jul03  Jun03  May03
Apr03  Mar03  Feb03  Jan03
Dec02  Nov02  Oct02  Sep02
back to main page

the diamond geezer index
2023 2022
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

my special London features
a-z of london museums
E3 - local history month
greenwich meridian (N)
greenwich meridian (S)
the real eastenders
london's lost rivers
olympic park 2007
great british roads
oranges & lemons
random boroughs
bow road station
high street 2012
river westbourne
trafalgar square
capital numbers
east london line
lea valley walk
olympics 2005
regent's canal
square routes
silver jubilee
unlost rivers
cube routes
Herbert Dip
metro-land
capital ring
river fleet
piccadilly
bakerloo

ten of my favourite posts
the seven ages of blog
my new Z470xi mobile
five equations of blog
the dome of doom
chemical attraction
quality & risk
london 2102
single life
boredom
april fool

ten sets of lovely photos
my "most interesting" photos
london 2012 olympic zone
harris and the hebrides
betjeman's metro-land
marking the meridian
tracing the river fleet
london's lost rivers
inside the gherkin
seven sisters
iceland

just surfed in?
here's where to find...
diamond geezers
flash mob #1  #2  #3  #4
ben schott's miscellany
london underground
watch with mother
cigarette warnings
digital time delay
wheelie suitcases
war of the worlds
transit of venus
top of the pops
old buckenham
ladybird books
acorn antiques
digital watches
outer hebrides
olympics 2012
school dinners
pet shop boys
west wycombe
bletchley park
george orwell
big breakfast
clapton pond
san francisco
thunderbirds
routemaster
children's tv
east enders
trunk roads
amsterdam
little britain
credit cards
jury service
big brother
jubilee line
number 1s
titan arum
typewriters
doctor who
coronation
comments
blue peter
matchgirls
hurricanes
buzzwords
brookside
monopoly
peter pan
starbucks
feng shui
leap year
manbags
bbc three
vision on
piccadilly
meridian
concorde
wembley
islington
ID cards
bedtime
freeview
beckton
blogads
eclipses
letraset
arsenal
sitcoms
gherkin
calories
everest
muffins
sudoku
camilla
london
ceefax
robbie
becks
dome
BBC2
paris
lotto
118
itv