Wikipedia
tells us about the DLR system:
"The Docklands Light Railway (the
DLR) is an automated light metro or light rail system opened in 1987 to serve
the redeveloped Docklands area of London. It reaches north to Stratford, south
to Lewisham, west to Tower Gateway and Bank in the City of London financial
district, and east to Beckton, London City Airport and Woolwich
Arsenal.
The system is not entirely
unmanned: it uses minimal staffing on board trains and at major interchange
stations; the 4 sub-surface stations are staffed to comply with underground
station requirements. Similar proposals have been made for the adjacent system,
the Tube.
The DLR is operated under a
concession awarded by Transport for London to Serco Docklands, part of the Serco
Group. The system is owned by Docklands Light Rail Limited, part of the
London Rail division of Transport for London. In 2011 the DLR carried over 86
million passengers. It has been extended several times and further extensions
are being planned."
Wikipedia tells us:
"Poplar
is a station on the Docklands Light Railway in
Travelcard Zone 2. It is served by three
of
the
six regular routes on the DLR (Stratford-Lewisham, Bank-Woolwich Arsenal and Tower Gateway-Beckton) making it
one of the busiest stations on the network in
terms of services.
History:
Long
before
the opening of the DLR in 1987, there had been three stations with the
name Poplar. However, none was on the site of
the current station.
Poplar
railway station was on the London and Blackwall Railway between 8 July 1840 to
4 May 1926. This is near the site of
Blackwall DLR station.
Poplar
(East
India
Dock Road) railway station on the North London Railway was in use from 1866
until 1944. This is now the site of All
Saints DLR station.
A third station named Poplar was constructed
in
1851
but never opened. This was sited due south of the North London Railway station
(now All Saints DLR), and due east of the
present DLR depot.
Poplar DLR station was opened on 21 August 1987, originally
with just two platforms, being served only by the Stratford-Island Gardens
branch of the DLR. As the DLR was expanded eastwards, the station was
extensively remodelled, given two extra platforms and expanded to take two-car
operation. On 28 March 1994 Poplar became the
western terminus of the new Beckton branch, which opened the
same day; on 31 July 1995 the line was
extended west, joining Poplar with Westferry via a
flying
junction
and enabling Beckton services to run to Tower Gateway. Bank to King George V
(later Woolwich Arsenal) services through the station commenced on
2 December 2005.
Connections:
Poplar serves a junction in four
directions:
Eastbound towards Beckton and Woolwich Arsenal
(next station Blackwall)
Northbound towards Stratford
(next station All Saints)
Southbound towards the Isle of
Dogs and Lewisham (next station West India Quay)
Westbound towards Bank and Tower Gateway
(next station Westferry).
The central depot for the DLR
is
situated
next to Poplar station and is accessed through a pair of tracks just east
of Poplar. These feature the tightest curves in operation
on the railway.
Crossrail:
From 2017, when Crossrail opens, Poplar DLR station will be directly adjacent to the
new Canary Wharf railway station. This will enable good
transfers and connections.
"