On Sunday 4th of June 2023, I went on a trip towards Lewisham which was actually unplanned but, I went with it anyways. I would also like to apologise for the lack of images on this trip as it was last minute.
It was a sunny day and I was in Central London after having some lunch. I headed over to Oxford Circus station; obviously a very busy station, as it's on the heart of Regent Street and Oxford Street for shoppers to go towards their shopping spree. Literally a shoppers paradise, if you are a fan of that.
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| Central Line 1992 Tube Stock train at Bank Station on the Eastbound platform. Photo taken by Brett Jordan. |
As I descended down into the platform, I waited for a Central Line train on the eastbound platform. It had been a while since I used it, since the Elizabeth Line now runs throughout Central London but certainly copes a bit better - pretty much had to stand all the way though, at least during this section, I went only a couple of stops. I alighted at Bank, which (as you can see above) has quite a gap between the train and the platform as the Central Line platforms are on quite a curve. Over the past year, the Northern Line southbound platforms at Bank station has received a bit of an upgrade, with the platforms being more wider as before it felt narrow.
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| This photo was taken way before this trip and on a totally different branch of the DLR route, although this was the type of DLR train I rode on my journeys during this trip. |
Next, I had to walk to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) platforms which took about roughly five minutes. The Docklands Light Railway is a line (classed as light metro) that has been operation since 31st of August 1987. As of today, the line is very popular and has seen a number of extensions; Woolwich Arsenal and Lewisham to the south, Stratford and Beckton to the east. The aim of the route is to serve the redeveloped Docklands area (well, it's in the name I suppose) which at the time wanted a direct connection towards the City of London. The trains are fully automated (meaning it can drive by itself) however, there is a guard onboard who operates the doors and deals with passenger assistance should they require so.
I did briefly miss the Lewisham service as I arrived to the platform, regardless the next one was only two minutes behind so not all was bad. On this trip a fair amount of passengers boarded as we departed away from Bank. At first we were underground briefly but emerged into the outside world. The c2c route was running alongside on the left hand side, having come from London Fenchurch Street which is not too far away from each other. After stopping at Limehouse and Westferry, we took a very sharp right hand curve into Canary Wharf - the heart of the Docklands. Towers, buildings and offices appear all around you. A few more stops are served before going underneath the River Thames, then emerging into South East London. The rest of ride onwards into Lewisham was pretty much views of the suburbs.
Arriving into Lewisham, which was an area that I visited alot many, many years ago. My last visit was 2017 and since then, well, apart from the new housing in development and the road layout - I can't really tell what has changed as I don't go here often. If I did then I would have a bit more of a fairer judgement to give. Anyways, once I finished what I had done in Lewisham I boarded the DLR back to Canary Wharf and changed for another DLR service towards Stratford (since the one I got previously was heading to Bank.) At Stratford I took the Elizabeth Line home, was fairly quiet at Stratford given it was the late evening so made a change.
That's pretty much the whole trip.
Thank you for reading and happy riding!
