Poplar Depot, also known as the Operations and Maintenance Centre (OMC), is the secondary depot and headquarters for the
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Lo ...
(DLR). It is located adjacent to
Poplar DLR station
Poplar is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Poplar in London, England. Poplar is a cross-platform interchange station for three of the six lines on the DLR (-, Bank- and Tower Gateway-) making it one of the busiest stations on the ...
, in
Poplar, London
Poplar is a district in East London, England, the administrative centre of the borough of Tower Hamlets. Five miles (8 km) east of Charing Cross, it is part of the East End.
It is identified as a major district centre in the London Plan ...
.
History
The depot opened in August 1987 as part of the initial DLR system. Due to the constrained site at Poplar, a new, larger depot was built at
Beckton
Beckton is a suburb in east London, England, located east of Charing Cross and part of the London Borough of Newham. Adjacent to the River Thames, the area consisted of unpopulated marshland known as the East Ham Levels in the parishes of Barki ...
- which replaced Poplar as the main train depot in 1994.
Over half the fleet are stored and maintained here. It is situated to the north of
Poplar station and has two additional
sidings next to
All Saints. The depot was extended to hold more trains, when three-car operation began in 2009.
Future
Given the depot's location close to
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...
, Transport for London have proposed rebuilding the depot to have residential towers built above it. This would require expansion of the Beckton depot to allow for construction at Poplar.
See also
*
Docklands Light Railway rolling stock
Docklands Light Railway rolling stock is the passenger trains and service vehicles (collectively known as 'rolling stock') used on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which serves the London Docklands area in the east of London.
The passenger ...
References
Railway depots in London
Docklands Light Railway
DLR depot
Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
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