Canary Wharf tube station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Canary Wharf  |
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 |
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| Location | |
| Place | Canary Wharf |
| Local authority | Tower Hamlets |
| Operations | |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Platforms in use | 2 |
| Transport for London | |
| Zone | 2 |
| Annual entry/exit | 34.210 million † |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1999 |
| Transport for London List of London stations: Underground | National Rail |
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| † Data from Transport for London [1] | |
Canary Wharf tube station is a London Underground station on the Jubilee Line, between Canada Water and North Greenwich. It is in Travelcard Zone 2 and was opened by Ken Livingstone setting an escalator in motion on 17 September 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension. It is maintained by Tube Lines.
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[edit] History
Before the arrival of the Jubilee Line, London's Docklands had suffered from relatively poor public transport. Although the Docklands Light Railway station at Canary Wharf had been operating since 1987, by 1990 it was already obvious that the DLR's capacity would soon be reached. The Jubilee Line's routing through Canary Wharf was intended to relieve some of this pressure.
The tube station was intended from the start to be the showpiece of the Jubilee Line Extension, and its design was awarded in 1990 to the renowned architect Sir Norman Foster. It was constructed in a drained arm of the former dock, using a simple "cut and cover" method to excavate an enormous pit 24 metres (78 feet) deep and 265 metres (869 feet) long. The resulting large volume of the interior has led to it being compared to a cathedral, and it has even been used to celebrate a wedding. However, the main reason for the station's enormous proportions was the great number of passengers predicted — as many as 50,000 daily.
[edit] The station today
Above ground, there is little sign of the vast interior: two curved glass canopies at the east and west ends of the station cover the entrances and refract daylight into the ticket hall below. A public park is located between the two canopies, above the station concourse. It had originally been intended that the infilled section of the dock would be reinstated above the station. However, this proved impractical because of technical difficulties and the park was created instead.
As with the other below-ground stations on the Jubilee Line extension, both station platforms are equipped with platform edge doors.
Canary Wharf station has increasingly become one of the busiest stations on the network, serving the ever-expanding Canary Wharf business district. Although it shares a name with the Docklands Light Railway station at Canary Wharf, the two are not directly integrated (in fact, Heron Quays DLR station is nearer at street level). All three stations are connected underground via shopping malls.
Canary Wharf is also a double terminus, meaning that trains from Stratford and Stanmore can terminate at Canary Wharf. Trains terminating at Canary Wharf from Stanmore normally go into the platform to let passengers change, but then reverse back onto the westbound tracks (empty) using a set of points which lead to the westbound track in the west side of the station. The train will then resume its service from Canada Water. Trains terminating from Stratford usually go into the westbound platform to let passengers change, trains then continue straight. After passing the points mentioned above, and another set of points which lead to the eastbound tracks, the driver will stop the rear carriage just after these points and will enter the eastbound platform for a service to Stratford. This system is very complicated.
[edit] Future proposals
Canary Wharf station and the Jubilee Line Extension itself were partly funded by the owners of the Canary Wharf complex, with the intention of making it more accessible to commuters. Only five years after the construction of the extension, capacity issues are already becoming apparent. It is envisaged that they will be resolved by adopting a new signalling system to allow trains to run more closely together, and thus more frequently. Trains have also been recently increased from six to seven carriages. In the longer term, the building of Crossrail line 1 will bring another rail connection to Canary Wharf and will also relieve pressure on the Jubilee line.
[edit] Image gallery
 Concourse of Canary Wharf station |
 Concourse and concourse roof of Canary Wharf station |
 A Jubilee Line train stopped at Canary Wharf underground station |
 Interior view under station canopy |
 Ticket hall on the concourse of Canary Wharf station |
 Interior of Canary Wharf |
 Canary Wharf tube station on busy day |
 Canary Wharf station roundel on the platforms |
 Canary Wharf platforms |
[edit] Local notable places
- One Canada Square, the tallest building in the UK
- Canary Wharf
- Citigroup Centre
- HSBC Tower
[edit] External links
| Previous station | London Underground | Next station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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toward Stanmore
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Jubilee Line |
toward Stratford
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| Canary Wharf, London |
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| 1 Canada Square | HSBC Tower | Citigroup Centre | One Churchill Place | 10 Upper Bank Street | 40 Bank Street | 25 Bank Street | 1 Cabot Square | 5 Canada Square | 33 Canada Square | 10 Cabot Square | 25 Cabot Square | 25 North Colonnade | 20 Canada Square | 50 Bank Street | 20 Bank Street | 20 Cabot Square | 30 South Colonnade | 11 Westferry Circus | 1 Westferry Circus | 17 Columbus Courtyard | 20 Columbus Courtyard | 15 Westferry Circus | 7 Westferry Circus Transport Links: Canary Wharf DLR | Canary Wharf Tube | Canary Wharf Pier | Heron Quays DLR | London City Airport | South Quay DLR |
