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 (Stratford-Canary Wharf, Bank-Woolwich Arsenal and Tower Gateway-Beckton) 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.

Poplar Docklands Light Railway
Platforms 2 and 3 at Poplar DLR station towards Lewisham, Stratford and Canary Wharf
Poplar is located in London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Poplar
Poplar
Location of Poplar in London Borough of Tower Hamlets
LocationPoplar
Local authorityLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets
Managed byDocklands Light Railway
Number of platforms4
AccessibleYes[1]
Fare zone2
OSICanary Wharf Elizabeth line
DLR annual boardings and alightings
2019Increase 4.967 million[2]
2020Decrease 1.136 million[3]
2021Decrease 0.826 million[4]
2022Increase 1.170 million[5]
2023Increase 1.810 million[6]
Railway companies
Original companyDocklands Light Railway
Key dates
31 August 1987Opened
Other information
Coordinates51°30′28″N 0°01′03″W / 51.5077°N 0.0174°W / 51.5077; -0.0174
London transport portal

History

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Long before the opening of the DLR in 1987, there had been three stations with the name Poplar. However, none was on the site of the current station.

Poplar DLR station was opened on 21 August 1987, originally with just two platforms, being served only by the Stratford-Island Gardens branch of the DLR. As the DLR was expanded eastwards, the station was extensively remodelled, given two extra platforms and expanded to take two-car operation. On 28 March 1994 Poplar became the western terminus of the new Beckton branch, which opened the same day; on 31 July 1995, the line was extended west, joining Poplar with Westferry via a flying junction and enabling Beckton services to run to Tower Gateway. Bank to King George V (later Woolwich Arsenal) services through the station commenced on 2 December 2005.

A trial as is part of Mayor of London Draft Transport Strategy called Adopt a Station' took place in 2018, which aims to encourage the use of public transport with space at the station will be given over to help publicise community events, classes, and workshops. It will also provide a platform for schools and groups to showcase art and it is hoped the scheme will make travelling through the station a more pleasant experience.[7]

Location

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Poplar serves a junction in four directions:

Poplar DLR depot is situated north of the station, and is accessed through a pair of tracks just east of Poplar. These feature the tightest curves in operation on the railway.

Panoramic view of Poplar station

Services

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The typical off-peak service in trains per hour from Poplar is:[8]

During the peak hours, the services to Bank, Tower Gateway, Beckton and Woolwich Arsenal are increased up to 8 tph. In addition, the services to Stratford and Canary Wharf are increased up to 16 tph, with up to 8 tph during the peak hours extended beyond Canary Wharf to and from Lewisham.

Preceding station     DLR   Following station
Westferry
towards Bank or Tower Gateway
  Docklands Light Railway   Blackwall
West India Quay
towards Lewisham
    All Saints
towards Stratford

Connections

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London Buses

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While no bus routes directly serve the station presently, routes 15 and 115, prefix route D6 and night routes N15 and N551 do provide an indirect link to the station eastbound via Hale Street at Poplar Recreation Ground/Poplar Station bus stop on East India Dock Road A13.[9]

Elizabeth Line

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As part of the construction of the Elizabeth line, Canary Wharf railway station was built and opened in 2022. This enables interchange between DLR and Elizabeth line services. [10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  7. ^ Horton, Tom (14 February 2018). "Passengers invited to help improve Poplar DLR Station".
  8. ^ "DLR train timetables". Transport for London. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Poplar Recreation Grd / Poplar Stn". Transport for London.
  10. ^ "Out-of-Station Interchanges" (XLSX). Transport for London. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
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