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Next month is the thirtieth anniversary of the Docklands Light Railway, a pioneer of urban light-metro travel, linking the regenerated Docklands area of London with the City. Here are some reasons why we love it.
Seeing tourists clad in Beatles paraphernalia eagerly getting off at Abbey Road in West Ham never ceases to be funny
Still, if you’ve made the pilgrimage, you might as well fake it on the nearest zebra crossing, since Abbey Road in St John’s Wood is ten miles away.
Getting a burst of (relatively) fresh air at every DLR station is a godsend
Reportedly, if animals were to be transported on the tube, EU animal welfare laws would be breached. Some might challenge the validity of this comparison post-Brexit, yet the fact that 20 minutes spent on the Northern line has the equivalent effect of smoking a cigarette makes for sombre reading. Thank you, DLR.
The DLR network is less likely to be affected by strike action
Hopefully, this will mean that your quickest route to work won’t have to involve a bus, bike, train then boat across the Thames.
Forget about Ryanair, you can get to Cyprus for pocket change (sort of)
Plus, you’ll have better leg room at this DLR station, won’t get penalised for extra baggage (unless it exceeds two metres in length) and, best of all, won’t have to hear that toe-curling on-time jingle if your plane is 20 minutes late instead of 30.
You can stand on both the Western and Eastern hemispheres on the eastbound platform at East India
Just don’t forget to take a selfie, or it never happened.
There’s a challenge where you can try to visit all 45 stations in record time
You’ll need your attempt verified in order to join the elite group of speedsters on the leaderboard. Find out more here.
The novelty of sitting in the ‘driver’s seat’ feeds the imagination of kids and excitable adults alike
As the DLR darts past eye-catching skyscrapers, it’s an experience akin to riding a rollercoaster or a monorail. Singing ‘The Monorail Song’ from The Simpsons is strictly optional.