9/270 - Canary Wharf

The impressive main entrance
to Canary Wharf,
4th April 2017

From yesterday's visit to the least used station on the network to one of the most used, Canary Wharf is the busiest station to only be served by one underground line. Canary Wharf is the tenth most used station on the London Underground with over 54 million passengers a year, and the only underground station on the Isle of Dogs, home to the major business district of Canary Wharf. Exciting times are coming for the area with arrival of Crossrail, or the Elizabeth line as it will be known, in December 2018.

Escalator from the ticket hall
to the main entrance,
4th April 2017

Canary Wharf opened in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension. Before the Jubilee Line Extension, Jubilee line stations terminated at Charing Cross, but part of the extension meant that trains diverged from Green Park to Westminster instead of Charing Cross. The station is important to the increasingly expanding Canary Wharf business district, with the user ship being mainly used by commuters. As a result, the station is extremely busy during peak hours, and all 54 million annual passengers cram onto the Jubilee line. The station, designed by Norman Foster, is often referred to a cathedral. Canary Wharf is so large mainly to accommodate with the expected 50,000 daily passengers, however, in 2006 it was recorded that 69,759 people on average use the station on weekdays, 20,000 more than the station was originally expected to accommodate.  

The DLR is an important
service to the Isle of Dogs,
4th April 2017

The most used station served by one line?

It is important to recognise that Canary Wharf is only served by one London Underground line. Although passengers change to interchange with the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), this is a separate station. In fact, if you want to change for the DLR at Canary Wharf, it is quicker to do so at Heron Quays, as it is slightly nearer to the entrance of the Jubilee line station. The second most used station on the network to be served by just one line is Brixton on the Victoria line, with 30 million annual passengers. 

The impressive DLR
station,
4th April 2017

The Docklands Light Railway

Although Canary Wharf is the only London Underground station in the Isle of Dogs, the DLR plays an important role in providing transport for East London, linking Greenwich, the Isle of Dogs, Stratford, London City Airport and 'the city' together. 19 million people use the DLR from the Canary Wharf station each year. The station is served by three tracks, as trains go from Bank to Lewisham, and Canary Wharf to Stratford. Platforms 1 and 2 serve the Northbound three car service to Bank from Lewisham, whereas platforms 5 and 6 serve the Southbound three car service to Lewisham from Bank. Platforms 3 and 4 serve two car services running to Stratford via. Bow Church. Heron Quay, the closest DLR station to Canary Wharf London Underground station, is used by just under 8 million people each year. The platforms are elevated and is situated inside an office building. 

A taste of the future

The new Crossrail station
at Canary Wharf,
4th April 2017

Crossrail will open at Canary Wharf in December 2018, and it will provide a much needed service to the business districts. Crossrail, or the Elizabeth line, services will run between key hubs at Heathrow, Farringdon and Liverpool Street to allow commuters to access these key transport services. With around 20,000 excess passengers using the station each working day, all using the Jubilee line, Crossrail will provide extra support to the area. Interestingly, just like Heron Quays is the closest DLR station to the Jubilee line station, West India Quay is the closest DLR station to the new Crossrail station. You can see the impressive new station waiting to be open, with a lovely roof garden. Just take a quick walk across Crossrail Place to have a glimpse at what is to come. Crossrail does have its critics, but I believe that the Elizabeth line will be important to the capital, and I cannot wait for the railway to begin to open in May this year between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, taking over the existing TFL rail services. 

The largest roundel at
platform level on the entire
London Underground
network,
4th April 2017

A cathedral in a tube station

Canary Wharf, despite being so busy during peak times, is a well-loved station. A YouGov poll in 2013 saw users voting the station as the "Most Loved" on the London Underground, with a Londonist poll in 2012 seeing the station as the second "best underground station" behind the impressive Westminster station. A reason why Canary Wharf is so popular is how spacious it is, and the platform edge doors allows passengers to accurately judge where to stand for the train doors. There are five entrances to the station, two in the shopping centre and three surface buildings. However, a fact that makes Canary Wharf unique are the roundels, which are the largest at platform level on the network.





Personally, Canary Wharf is my fourth favourite station. I am currently working on a blog post for next week ranking my top 10 stations, this will swap and change as I explore more of the London Underground. I appreciate Canary Wharf's and the Jubilee Line Extension's design, a display of modern engineering. The only negative I have with Canary Wharf is how Crossrail, the DLR and the Jubilee line stations are spaced.

However, if you work or frequently travel through the area, why not visit the new Crossrail complex, or as much of it as possible. I predict that once the new railway is open the roof garden will be a lot busier, so visit it now whilst it is quiet.

More photos

Roof Garden on top of the new
Crossrail complex,
4th April 2017

Westbound Jubilee line
platform,
4th April 2017

Escalator from the platforms
to Canary Wharf ticket hall,
4th April 2017

If you want to see more photos of transport in London, follow my Instagram account, tubespottingdan. Have you got any questions? Please send them in and I will answer them in my next blog post.