West India Quay station is located over the northern half of the dock of the same name in southeast end of Limehouse and is very close to both Poplar and Canary Wharf, and is in the central portion of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Situated to the south of Billingsgate Road and Aspen Way, the station is near the edge of the main Docklands re-development area. The distance from West India Quay DLR to Canary Wharf DLR is just, the shortest distance on the entire London Underground and Docklands Light Railway system. Indeed, while standing at the station, the platforms for Canary Wharf are clearly visible just down the line. This can also be seen at Heron Quays station. West India Quay will be the closest DLR station to the Canary Wharf Crossrail station. The station is not served by any London Buses Routes. As of April 2017 DLR trains from Bank towards Lewisham do not stop at this station, meaning to get here from the City of London passengers must either change at Poplar or travel on to Canary Wharf and get the next train in the opposite direction.
History
The station opened in 1987 but was closed from 1991 to 1993 as the surrounding area was rebuilt. The station is near to the Museum in Docklands and the adjoining hotel and leisure facilities on the north quay of West India Docks, and indeed the platforms of the station extend over part of the dock.
Late 2000s upgrades
Between March and October 2007 the station's canopy was replaced in a £1.85m project funded by Transport for London. Throughout the project, TfL highlighted the sustainable nature of the project through its use of recycled materials while justifying the replacement as necessary due to the increasingly windy conditions as a result of taller developments nearby. Construction was completed in May 2009 of a new single track dive-under as part of the current capacity upgrades. A ramp takes trains from Bank to Canary Wharf under the current Canary Wharf to Poplar track. The new track bypasses West India Quay, before coming back up to rejoin the route to Canary Wharf. To construct the new track next to West India Quay the easternmost platform had to be demolished. A consequence of this was, that during construction, trains from Canary Wharf to Poplar and trains from Bank to Canary Wharf had to cross each other at the same level which limited junction capacity. The work was completed in May 2009 but the bypass track was not commissioned until 24 August. It is used Monday-Friday until 1900 by all trains running from Bank to Lewisham but trains running in the opposite direction still call at West India Quay even during peak hours.
Station layout
Until the Delta Junction upgrade in 2009, West India Quay used to contain four platforms with four tracks. From west to east these platforms served trains to Westferry, to Poplar, from Westferry, and Poplar. After reconstruction, the old platform 1 ceased to exist, but re-numbering occurred and trains from Poplar now arrive on the eastern track.
