Mudchute | |
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Location of Mudchute in Greater London
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Location | Millwall |
Local authority | Tower Hamlets |
Managed by | Docklands Light Railway |
Number of platforms | 3 |
Accessible | Yes |
Fare zone | 2 |
DLR annual boardings and alightings | |
2012 | 1.841 million |
2013 | 1.908 million |
2014 | 2.107 million |
2015 | 2.311 million |
Railway companies | |
Original company | Docklands Light Railway |
Key dates | |
31 August 1987 | Opened |
9 March 1992 | Closed temporarily |
5 April 1992 | Reopened |
1999 | Rebuilt and resited |
2009 | Third platform added |
Other information | |
Lists of stations | |
WGS84 | 51°29′28″N 0°00′54″W / 51.4912°N 0.0150°WCoordinates: 51°29′28″N 0°00′54″W / 51.4912°N 0.0150°W |
Mudchute is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Millwall next to Mudchute in Greater London, England. The station is situated on the Isle of Dogs within the East End of London which is on the Lewisham branch of the Docklands Light Railway and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The original station was on the route of the Millwall Extension Railway which was an old Victorian railway line that had been disused for many years. The original elevated station opened on 31 August 1987 and it was the last station before the terminus at Island Gardens. When the line was extended under the River Thames to Lewisham the station was rebuilt in a shallow cutting close to the tunnel entrance. The rebuilt station opened on 20 November 1999. In April 2008 work started on replacing the siding formed by the old route into a third platform for reversing trains and adding a canopy over the station. By October 2009 these works were complete.
The station was originally intended to be named Millwall Park but around the time the DLR was being constructed Millwall F.C. had experienced some particularly nasty incidents of hooliganism, and a minority of its fans were considered to be amongst the most riotous in the country. Apart from any negative association the name may have given, local people were concerned that visiting fans in particular would travel to the station in error - not realising that the club's ground is some distance away on the other side of the river. Consequently, the name Mudchute was suggested and subsequently agreed upon.
The name of the area refers to the engineering overspill when Millwall Dock was being created in the 1840s. Spoil from the excavation of the Dock and silt from its channels and waterways were dumped on nearby land, creating "The Mudchute", which quickly established itself as a wildlife habitat and adventuring location for local children.