I love travelling on trains all type of trains. As being a Londoner I have travelled on many forms of transport in London. The most impressive has to be the DLR. The most popular being for tourists due to it being like a roller coaster ride through the beautiful views of Canary Wharf. Sitting at the front is hugely popular as you can see everything from the front seats. During my travels on the DLR. I have sat on the front only 2 times.
•Brief History•
Well the DLR. was needed in the Docklands area. As being docks in the docklands area in the early years it was reformed into new area full of buildings and industrial states. So a new form of transport was needed to overlook the renewal of the Docklands. In 1984 construction started to build the number one transport for docklands. I think it took between 3-4 years too complete and was built to the standards of that time. The time came and in 1987 it was the grand opening of the dlr. Queen Elizabeth was there
to open the beginning of a new era of transport for docklands. But this was fairly cheap infact it was needed so badly they built it very cheaply. Growing and getting better the dlr. extended to further places apart from docklands to Beckton, Bank, Tower Gateway and a few others. It was sold to a better company in 1997 to be provided with better services.
•What is DLR?•
Docklands Light Railway is a form of transport designed for the docklands area.
The trains can carry about 250 passengers. The trains have been designed specially to provide access for all people, even mothers or fathers with prams. The trains are ran automatically and combined with the latest technology to drive by itself. No driver is required except to control the doors or when in the night a driver is required. The tracks are specially made to do this. The trains run safely and smoothly but when turning on the tracks it can be very noisy indeed. I know how noisy it can get to. Many trains run in many directions, there is no fear of trains crashing into each other. The tracks go up and down but you wont feel the train going up or down.
It is good to have this system as it saves time and is effective and you can be relieved of all them traffic jams and enjoy the trips of the dlr.
But I have recently heard that this system also runs world-wide and many places in the UK that is very good than the normal London Underground.
•Routes•
The trains run many routes. DLR. serves Bank, Tower Gateway, Lewisham, Stratford and Beckton.
From POPLAR this is the main interchange station, from Poplar you can catch a dlr. to all routes I have mentioned above.
Now I will list most the stations the dlr. serves to.
Stratford - Lewisham :
Stratford, Pudding Mill Lane, Bow Church, Devon's Road, All Saints, Poplar, West India Quay, Canary Wharf, Heron Quays, South Quay, Crossharbour & London Arena, Mudchute, Island Gardens, Cutty Sark, Greenwich, Deptford Bridge, Elverson Road, Lewisham.
Beckton - Bank/Tower Gateway :
Beckton, Gallions Reach, Cyprus, Beckton Park, Royal Albert, Prince Regent, Custom House, Royal Victoria, Canning Town, East India, Blackwall, Poplar, Westferry, Limehouse, Shadwell, Bank, or Tower Gateway,
Lewisham - Bank:
Lewisham the train does not stop at poplar but it continues to the route from Westferry.
Those are the routes. In the future dlr. is probably going to plan routes to London City Airport and might just extend to most parts of London. This will bring more passengers to the dlr. company.
Most stations are close to each other like about a few hundred metres you can just walk that distance but some others are over 1000 metres.
You can enjoy lovely modern views from some stations or while in the trains. The trains run on elevated tracks without a driver.
•Tickets•
There are a number of tickets available. I frequently travel on a "Travelcard" which means travel on London non-stop hop on hop off as many times you want until midnight for low price starting from 80p child family travelcard.
Also I know there are tickets available just for travel on the dlr. Cheapest one day tickets for a child being 80p.
Those are the one day tickets available but single are available but I have no idea how much they cost.
Getting a travelcard is cheaper and can travel on most of the London transport. For more information visit www.dlr.co.uk or transportforlondon.gov.uk
•Advantages•
» Lovely views from trains, » Like a roller coaster ride, » Good range of seating, » Covers most parts of London Docklands, » Driver-less, » Satisfactory speeds, » Good staff on board, » Nice look,
•Disadvantages•
» You can walk to some of the stations because they are so near, » Sometimes trains come in over 5 minutes, » Can get packed on rush hour, » Does not serve most parts of London,
That's it for the Ads and DisAds for the dlr.
•Ways of Improving•
» Add more carriages, » Expand into other parts of London, » Lower ticket prices, » Have more trains running,
•Conclusion•
In concluding the dlr. is a fab way of travelling it the area of East London. I love sitting at the front part of the train because it is rare to get a seat at the front because there is a huge demand for the front seats. I love the trains and some trains are covered by sponsor ads like Coca-Cola or by the London Arena. I certainly like this type of transport because it is driver less and fun to ride on. It is great for all ages of people. When I went on Wednesday (Yesterday) it was my grandma's first travel on the dlr. as she came to London to visit us for the first time. We were lucky to get the front seats. She was so delighted and excited to sit at the front and claimed it was like a "roller coaster" ride but slower and fabulous stunning views of Canary Wharf and other views.
It is a great service and should deserve more passengers. Dlr. has proved to be a success with me and other passengers.
Enjoy!!!!
Fromthedarkside
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Aug 9th, 2001
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