Canning Town

[GuyBarry]

After getting lost there on Friday, I'm still a bit confused about the layout of Canning Town station. The Wikipedia article says:

To the west of the complex there are two 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 was reopened as a DLR station on 31 August 2011.

My recollection is of going down one level from the high-level DLR platforms to the Jubilee line platforms, and then down a further level to the low-level DLR platforms. Is my memory wrong or is the article in error?

Also I don't understand how through services can run from Beckton to Stratford International with the platforms at different levels.

[The Orange One]

You have the Jubilee Line platforms at Canning Town. Above them, you have platforms from/to Bank and Tower Gateway. Beside them, you have platforms from/to Stratford International. To get from the Bank platforms to the Stratford platforms involves going down one level to the Jubilee, down a second level to the ticket hall and then up one level to the Stratford International platforms.

As for how trains get to the two platforms, have a look at Carto Metro London.

[GuyBarry]

You have the Jubilee Line platforms at Canning Town. Above them, you have platforms from/to Bank and Tower Gateway. Beside them, you have platforms from/to Stratford International. To get from the Bank platforms to the Stratford platforms involves going down one level to the Jubilee, down a second level to the ticket hall and then up one level to the Stratford International platforms.

As for how trains get to the two platforms, have a look at Carto Metro London.

Thanks - that's a really helpful resource. I understand the station layout now but I still can't see any way that trains coming from Beckton can get onto the Stratford International line:

http://carto.metro.free.fr/cartes/metro ... nning-town

Do through services actually run? I gained that impression from the TfL website but there didn't seem to be any on the day.

[The Orange One]

DLTs (Docklands Light Trains) at off-peak times now run:
- Bank to Woolwich Arsenal
- Bank to Lewisham
- Tower Gateway to Beckton
- Stratford high level to Canary Wharf
- Stratford International to Woolwich Arsenal
- West Ham to Beckton

Just outside Royal Victoria trains to West Ham take the left fork, head under the flyover to the high level platforms and then join the Stratford International branch before coming into the Canning Town low level DLR platforms.

[GuyBarry]

DLTs (Docklands Light Trains) at off-peak times now run:
- Bank to Woolwich Arsenal
- Bank to Lewisham
- Tower Gateway to Beckton
- Stratford high level to Canary Wharf
- Stratford International to Woolwich Arsenal
- West Ham to Beckton

In that case, why are passengers from Royal Victoria (and presumably other stations on the Beckton branch) for Stratford International advised to take the first train and change at Canning Town? It would surely make more sense to take a through train to West Ham and change there, where you're on the same platform (if I'm reading the diagram correctly).

Just outside Royal Victoria trains to West Ham take the left fork, head under the flyover to the high level platforms and then join the Stratford International branch before coming into the Canning Town low level DLR platforms.

Ah - I see it now. I didn't spot the line heading under the flyover.

[The Orange One]

The reason is to get people off the remote platforms and to a station that:
1) Was built to handle lots of people
2) Provides alternative trains to the possible destinations (like the Jubilee Line)

There is a more pragmatic reason, though. Trains from Woolwich Arsenal to Stratford International run every 10 minutes. If all trains terminated at Stratford International (which is actually a pretty sensible idea given that they only seem to use one of the two platforms at the moment), they would presumably run the trains every 5 minutes, fitting the Beckton trains in the gaps. At West Ham, the West Ham terminator stops in the northbound platform, waits for 5/6 minutes then heads southbound using the trailing crossover south of the station. While this is happening, no trains can head northbound on the DLR, so the service schedule is Stratford International, 2 minute or so break, West Ham, 8 minute or so break, Stratford International. The upshot of this is that if you take a Tower Gateway train to Canning Town, you have time two switch onto the Stratford International train before, getting you to your destination 10 minutes early.

[GuyBarry]

That all makes sense now, but it leaves me wondering why they decided to terminate any trains at West Ham. I'd have thought it would have been more sensible to run all the trains on that branch through to Stratford International, or (alternatively) to build an additional platform at West Ham so that trains could wait there without any disruption to through services.

[The Orange One]

No space for another platform - it was built on the old North London Line (or if you go far enough back, EC&TJR) alignment to North Woolwich, so where would you realistically put one?

[greatkingrat]

As DLR trains are automatic, they can reverse very quickly with no driver needing to change ends. So the terminating trains at West Ham can easily get out of the way before the next through train comes along.

[The Orange One]

They do seem to want maximum time to pick up southbound passengers, though.

[GuyBarry]

Here's another thought: why didn't they put the crossover north of West Ham rather than south of it? That way trains could have terminated there northbound, left the station empty and come back to wait on the southbound platform.

[geofftech]

because the 'reverse at West Ham' is a NEW thing, that they have only started doing recently. hence no 'plan' to have a third platform, the crossover on the 'wrong' side. and it's not a 5/6 minute reversing time either - it's 2 minutes, which can be 90 seconds if it's running late!

they're perfectly capable of running those trains all they way through to Stratford - as they do in the peak - but off peak, they've now chosen not to. West Ham never designed to be regular reversing point, they're now just taking advantage of the fact that they can.

Here: (includes map I drew)

http://londonist.com/2015/02/dlr-route- ... trains.php

[GuyBarry]

Thanks Geoff - that's very useful. I noted the following sentence:

TfL has made the DLR to be very “turn up and go”, rather than wanting to tell you the exact schedules

This was one thing that surprised me when I wanted to check train times on the TfL website - it gave detailed departure times for the Tube, but for the DLR it simply gave the journey time and service frequency. However I've just gone back to check now and detailed departure times for the DLR are given, so have they changed their policy?

(I should perhaps point out that I'm not an actual Tube Challenger, so I don't make a habit of this sort of thing.)