Devons Road is a

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated medium-capacity rail system, light metro system primarily serving the redeveloped London Docklands, Docklands area of London and providing a direct connection between London's two major financi ...

(DLR) station located in

Bromley-by-Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. It is an inner-city suburb located 4.7 mil ...

. The station takes its name from

Devons Road Devons Road is a road in Bromley-by-Bow in east London. Part of the B140 road, it gives its name to the Devons Road DLR station. Motive power depots The North London Railway established a large motive power depot at Bow around 1850, which was ...

and is between Langdon Park and Bow Church stations. It is on the Stratford–Poplar branch of the DLR, with services continuing on to Canary Wharf and Lewisham. The station opened with the DLR system on 31 August 1987 and is a rare example of the preserved distinctive architectural design of the first stations. It is in London fare zone 2.

History

North London Railway

The first railway through the site of the station was the Bow–Poplar branch of the

North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the Port of London further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fell into disus ...

(NLR), built in 1851 and opened on 1 January 1852. The line was opened initially for freight only. To the east were the Devons Road engine sheds and to the south was the Devons Road Goods Depot of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

. Passenger service through the site commenced on 1 August 1866. The nearest stations on the line were Bow to the north and Poplar (East India Road) to the south. An

infill station An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train ser ...

at South Bromley opened to the south on 1 September 1884. The line to Poplar was closed to passengers on 15 May 1944, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The line continued to be used for declining freight traffic until 5 October 1981 and the track lifted by 13 May 1985.

Docklands Light Railway

In the 1980s, consideration was being given to improving transport in the

London Docklands London Docklands is an area of London encompassing the city’s former docks. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London ...

. Various schemes were proposed, with the final Docklands Light Railway plans mostly reusing old railway routes, including the former NLR branch to Poplar. The Stratford–Poplar service was the second line to receive legislative consent in April 1985, one year after the first Tower Gateway–Island Gardens route. In the Bow area stations were planned on the old NLR alignment at Bow Church and Devons Road. The DLR station opened on 31 August 1987 as one of the original stations of the service. A further station was planned to the south at Langdon Park, but was not built due to lack of funding. The

was eventually built and opened on 9 December 2007.

Design

The station consists of two side platforms on a north–south alignment. It has retained much of the architectural design from its construction. It was built by

Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the company is active ac ...

with distinctive half-cylindrical glazed blue canopies. It is one of the few DLR stations to have its original features preserved. Two lifts provide step-free access from the platforms to the street. Platforms were lengthened to take two car trains soon after opening. As part of the 2000s DLR Capacity Enhancement Project the platforms were extended to the south to enable three car trains, the original staircases were replaced and the canopies extended.

Location

The station is located on

in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. The area around the station is primarily residential, with approximately 18,700 residents within 6,400 households.

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes 108 and

323 Year 323 ( CCCXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 1076 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 323 for this ...

serve the station.

Services

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour from Devons Road is: * 12 tph to * 12 tph to

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

Additional services call at the station during the peak hours, increasing the service to up to 16 tph in each direction, with up to 8 tph during the peak hours extended beyond Canary Wharf to and from .

Notes

References

External links

Docklands Light Railway website – Devons Road station page
{{Docklands Light Railway Docklands Light Railway stations in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1987 Bromley-by-Bow