Location Greenwich Fare zone 2 and 3 2012 5.535 million Number of platforms 2 | Accessible Yes OSI Greenwich Pier Address London, United Kingdom | |
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Managed by Docklands Light Railway Similar Greenwich station, Deptford Bridge DLR stati, Island Gardens DLR stati, Mudchute DLR station, Crossharbour DLR station | ||
Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Greenwich, south-east London, so named for its proximity to the Cutty Sark in the Maritime Greenwich district. It is the most central of the Greenwich DLR stations, being situated in Greenwich Town Centre.
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Location
The northernmost of the Greenwich DLR stations, Cutty Sark is located in the Maritime Greenwich district of south-eastern London. Its name comes from the clipper ship named Cutty Sark which is housed 200 metres to the north of the station; in 2007 the ship was severely damaged in a fire that occurred during restoration. A number of well-known tourist attractions are in the surrounding area, including the National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory, Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich foot tunnel, Trinity College of Music, and the Old Royal Naval College.
It is the first station south of the River Thames and, as the DLR passes underneath the river in a tunnel, is below ground. Along with all other stations on the Lewisham extension, it is in Travelcard Zones 2 and 3, passengers are only charged the lower of two possible fares as a result.
History
Cutty Sark station opened on 3 December 1999 as part of a 4.2-kilometre (3 mi) extension of the DLR from its former southern terminus of Island Gardens to Lewisham. Since its opening, the extension has seen tremendous growth as a result of connecting the Isle of Dogs financial centre with Greenwich, along with two National Rail connections.
The need for capacity increases has posed issues for the station. While most stations on the network have had their platforms extended as part of Transport for London's three-carriage capacity enhancement project, the island platform at Cutty Sark could not be lengthened due to cost (estimated at £30m) and risk of damage to the heritage site at street level. TfL proceeded with an alternate plan for the station that involved the use of selective door operation which allows three-car trains to stop at the station by only having the doors near the centre of the train open in both end carriages.
Station layout
One of only three completely underground stations on the DLR network, Cutty Sark station utilises an island platform setup with two tracks. This is similar to its cross-river sister station, Island Gardens, but unlike Bank station, which is designed to resemble a deep-level London Underground station. Its platforms are too short for the three-car trains that run on the line, which means that the first two sets and last two sets of doors on each train do not open and customers in the front and back of the train need to move towards the centre to leave the train. This is announced on trains. A similar situation applies at Elverson Road.
Service
On the DLR, Cutty Sark serves trains on two branches: Bank to Lewisham and Stratford to Lewisham. The former runs at frequencies of up to four minutes between trains, while the latter only runs during morning peak hours; at other times trains from Stratford terminate at Canary Wharf. Passengers bound for Tower Gateway, Beckton, or Woolwich Arsenal must change at Poplar or Westferry.
Connections
London Buses routes 188 and 199 and night route N1 serve the station.