Monday 4 April 2016

C is for Canary Wharf



The theme for my A-Z posts this year is London Underground Stations.  I've chosen a station for each letter and at the end of each post I've listed the other stations for that letter with their Wikipedia entries.  I've tried to visit each station and take my own photos. 

Actually there are two stations at Canary Wharf – one serves the Jubilee line, the other is the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station.  They have separate entrances but you can move between one another via the shopping mall that has been built there.  There will also be a Crossrail station in the future.
Canary Wharf Station Entrance



Canary Wharf is part of the regenerated London Docklands area.  Historically London was an important port and the docks were busy.  During WW2 one area (Surrey Docks) was destroyed and when the development of container ships began in the 1960s the remaining London docks could not accommodate these and the shipping industry moved to ports such as Tilbury and Felixstowe as these were deep water areas.


After the London Docks closed the areas became very run down and other consequences were high unemployment, poverty and associated social problems.  Steps were taken to address this by forming the LDDC (London Docklands Development Corporation) and also creating an enterprise zone which made the area more attractive for investment.


One Canada Square
The Isle of Dogs on which Canary Wharf stands is now a very different landscape.  The area is a commercial centre with many financial institutions based there.  Lots of new apartment buildings have also gone up. The building in my photo is synonymous with Canary Wharf but is actually called One Canada Square - it's the skyscraper with the pyramid roof but I couldn't get that in my photo!


DLR train at Canary Wharf
Transport links to Docklands was an issue and the DLR was put in place to address this but the success of the area meant that additional capacity had to be provided.   This led to the extension to the Jubilee line and the second Canary Wharf station.  Even this had to be further extended by extending platform lengths to accommodate longer trains and putting in technological advances to enable more trains to pass through the station per hour.


It’s a busy place!




Other “C” stations are:

Next stop D is for ….? Check back tomorrow to find out.

14 comments:

  1. I was happy to know about the stations in London. Your effort is priceless...

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  2. Thanks Wendy and wonderful photographs with their history! I'm stopping by via the A-Z - you're a few ahead of me.

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    1. Thank you I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am.

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  3. I am amazed at all of the stations, just so far! Is there anything holding London up? So many tunnels below just has me amazed! I'm enjoying your A-Z!

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    1. It is a bit scary sometimes. Recently builders working on an extension to a big West London mall (Westfield) drilled through the roof of a tunnel and debris fell onto a train. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35636249

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  4. Nice theme. You put in so much work per entry. Very impressive!

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  5. Nice post, Wendy! We took the DLR on one trip to London, and saw Greenwich and got to walk the tunnel under the river. There is never a shortage of things to see there!

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  6. I imagine what fun you had photographing these stations.

    Paula from
    Smidgen, Snippets, & Bits

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  7. I can't believe there are that many to choose from!

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  8. It has been about 25 years since I have been to London and traveled around England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Holland, and Sweden. I LOVE the history in Europe. I'm part Welsh as my dad's family came from Conwy, Wales so seeing Wales and England absolutely was a JOY to me. Thanks for the interesting post!

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  9. Thanks for the map. What a fascinating place. The name "Isle of Dogs" makes me wonder where the name came from. Was that section of the city once the home of dogs? And that apartment building you photographed - wow - I cannot imagine living so far up in the air. I'm on the third floor in an apartment (top floor here) and any more than that would be uncomfortable for me. Anyhow, thanks for the tour.

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