Royal Albert DLR station

Royal Albert
Royal Albert Location of Royal Albert in Greater London
Location	Royal Albert Dock
Local authority	London Borough of Newham
Managed by	Docklands Light Railway
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes [1]
Fare zone	3
DLR annual boardings and alightings
2012	1.402 million[2]
2013	1.396 million[3]
2014	1.434 million[3]
2015	1.526 million[3]
Railway companies
Original company	Docklands Light Railway
Key dates
28 March 1994	Opened
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
WGS84	51°30′30″N 0°02′45″E / 51.5083°N 0.0459°ECoordinates: 51°30′30″N 0°02′45″E / 51.5083°N 0.0459°E
London Transport portal

Royal Albert DLR station is a station on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in the Docklands area of east London. The station serves the western end of the north quay of the Royal Albert Dock, from which it takes its name. A view of the London City Airport is available.

The station is located on an elevated section of the DLR's Beckton branch, between Prince Regent and Beckton Park stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 3.

The station was opened in 1994. There was previously a station called Connaught Road on the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway in the same area but this closed in 1940.

The station is further from the nearest houses than any other on the DLR, despite which it has a steady patronage from those living in the area of Beckton to the north. In fact the station signage is subtitled "For West Beckton". However, the access route from these houses to the station, crossing the busy Royal Albert Way on the level, is notably substandard, the only footbridge being some distance away.

Following the relocation of many London Borough of Newham council staff to the Building 1000 offices adjoining the station, usage has increased substantially during office hours.

During problems, Royal Albert acts as a terminus with a shuttle between Royal Albert and Beckton. This is possible because there is a crossover to the west of the station.

The station serves the London Regatta Centre and Royal Docks Business Park which houses Newham Council.

DLR upgrades

It was originally planned that in 2010 work would start on extending the platforms at Royal Albert to handle three-car trains, which are being introduced across the DLR. The extension would have been at the east end of the station, bringing the platforms closer to Royal Docks Road, although no new access steps were planned. The platforms have not however been extended, and although metal catwalks have been installed, these are too narrow for non-emergency use and Selective Door Operation is used instead.

2010 should have also seen Royal Albert served by a second DLR service. The existing route between Beckton and Tower Gateway would have been supplemented by a second service between Beckton and Stratford International via Canning Town using the new DLR tracks from Canning Town to Stratford International. However this extension was severely delayed and didn't open until 31 August 2011.

Connections

London Buses routes 300 and 376 serves the station.

Gallery

• 
  Looking east
• 
  Looking west
• 
  Signage on eastbound platform

References

1. "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 June 2015.
2. Transport for London (12 February 2013). "Freedom of Information DLR usage 1213". Transport for London. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
3. "Up-to-date DLR entry/exit statistics for each station" (XLSX). What Do They Know. Transport for London. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.

External links

• Docklands Light Railway website - Royal Albert station page