Riding the DLR in the Front Seat

Published 28 September 2026 · By the Guide to London editorial team · Editor: Terje Moy

The Docklands Light Railway has no driver's cab, so the front window of the train is a passenger seat. If you want the best version of that ride, take the Tower Gateway to Beckton route: sixteen stations, 29 minutes, £3.30 off-peak, above ground for the whole way, and it starts from a terminus where the train is empty and the front row is yours for the asking.

The DLR is automatic. Computers drive the trains and a member of staff travels on board to check tickets, make announcements and take manual control where the railway needs it, which is why there is a window at the front rather than a cab door. Our guide to the DLR and the London Overground covers how the network works and where the branches go; this page is about the seat, the route and the timing.

Why there is a window and not a cab

The DLR opened in 1987 as an automated railway, and it has never had drivers in the conventional sense. Computers handle the acceleration, the braking and the station stops. A Passenger Service Agent rides with the passengers, sells and inspects tickets, closes the doors and can take the controls by hand where the railway requires it. What that means for a passenger is that the space a cab would occupy is a bench seat with a full-height window in front of it.

Two practical consequences. First, most DLR stations are unstaffed, so touch in at the reader on the platform or at the entrance before you board and touch out when you leave: there are no barriers to remind you, and a missed touch means a maximum fare that does not count towards your daily cap. Second, the front seats are ordinary seats. Nobody will move you on, and nobody has a better claim to them than you do.

The five routes, ranked for the front seat

Note that a Hainault-style loop does not exist here: each route is a straight line between two termini, and the destination is on the front of the train and on the platform screen. Trains from Bank and from Tower Gateway use different branches beyond Westferry, so read before you board.

Tower Gateway to Beckton, in order out of the window

Tower Gateway is a two-platform terminus a couple of minutes from the Tower of London, and its trains start empty, which is the whole reason to begin here rather than at Bank. The railway leaves on a viaduct and stays up there.

The first section runs at roof height through Shadwell and Limehouse and past the old Limehouse Cut, then Westferry, where the Bank and Tower Gateway branches meet. At Poplar the line crosses itself on a flyover, which is worth watching from the front because you can see the junction laid out below you. Then Blackwall and East India, with the river close on the right and the Dome visible across it.

Canning Town is the interchange with the Jubilee line, and after it the character changes completely. The train runs out along the north quay of the Royal Victoria Dock: Royal Victoria station sits beside the London Cable Car terminal, and the long glass shed of the ExCeL centre runs alongside the track for most of a kilometre; see how to get to ExCeL London. Custom House and Prince Regent are both on that stretch.

Then the best three minutes on the network. Between Royal Albert and Beckton Park the line runs along the water of the Royal Albert Dock, and on the far side of the dock is the runway of London City Airport, at eye level and a few hundred metres away. From the front seat you watch aircraft line up and land across the water while the train keeps going. Cyprus, Gallions Reach and Beckton finish the route in new-build east London.

Bank to Lewisham: the towers and the river

If you would rather have skyscrapers than aeroplanes, this is the ride, and 29 minutes covers both halves of Docklands. The catch is the start: the first four minutes out of Bank are in a tunnel, so the front window shows you a dark bore and the occasional light. The line surfaces before Limehouse.

From Westferry the train runs into Canary Wharf at the level of the lower floors, between the towers rather than beside them, and at Heron Quays it threads under a building with water on both sides. South Quay, Crossharbour and Mudchute carry you down the middle of the Isle of Dogs, with the towers behind you and the docks either side; our guide to Canary Wharf covers the estate itself, and the London Museum Docklands is a three-minute walk from West India Quay on the other branch.

At Island Gardens the line stops at the tip of the peninsula and then dives into a tunnel under the Thames, coming up at Cutty Sark. That descent, seen from the front, is the single best moment on the DLR: the track drops away in front of you and the daylight closes over the top of the train. Bank to Cutty Sark is 21 minutes, and it is the version to take if you are going to Greenwich anyway; see the Royal Observatory and Cutty Sark and staying in Greenwich.

Beyond Greenwich the line climbs again through Deptford Bridge and Elverson Road to Lewisham, which is an ordinary suburban finish. If you would rather walk under the river than ride under it, the Greenwich foot tunnel starts at Island Gardens.

How to get the seat when the train is busy

1. Board at a terminus. Tower Gateway, Beckton, Lewisham, Stratford International and Woolwich Arsenal all start trains empty. Bank does too, but it is the busiest and the platform fills before the train arrives.
2. Stand at the right end of the platform. Work out which way the train will leave and wait level with that end. On a two-carriage or three-carriage train the front row is four seats at most.
3. Go between 10:00 and 15:00, or on a Sunday morning. The Canary Wharf peaks fill every train in both directions, and the front seats go first.
4. Accept the second row. The window is full height and the view from the row behind is nearly as good, with a head in the middle of it.
5. Let children have it. This is the one piece of etiquette on the DLR that everybody observes: if a small child wants the front and you are an adult, you move. Our guide to London with kids has more free things that work the same way.

Fares, and the one thing that goes wrong with them

Tower Gateway to Beckton is £3.30 off-peak and £3.90 at peak times with contactless or Oyster. Bank to Lewisham is £3.10 off-peak and £3.60 peak, and Bank to Cutty Sark is the same. A paper single is £7.00 whatever the distance, which is never worth buying.

The failure mode is the unstaffed station. There are no ticket barriers on most of the DLR, so nothing physically stops you boarding without touching in, and the penalty is a maximum fare that does not count towards your cap. Touch the yellow reader on the platform before you get on, and again when you leave, even though it feels unnecessary.

Step-free, and better than the Tube for it

On the DLR there is no step up into the carriage anywhere: the platform edge is level with the floor at all 45 stations, and the route from the pavement to that platform is step-free too. No other London railway of this size manages it. That makes the front seat reachable with a wheelchair or a pushchair, which is unusual for a view of this kind.

Most stations are unstaffed, but staff travel on the trains and DLR assistance can be booked in advance on 0808 281 6655. DLR delay refunds start at 15 minutes, half the 30 minutes the Overground requires. Our page on accessible transport covers the rest of the network.

What goes wrong

The front seats are sometimes not available at all. On a small number of journeys the on-board staff member drives the train manually from the front position, using a control panel built into the end of the car, and when that happens the seats are out of use for the length of the manual section. It is not predictable and it is not worth planning around; take the next train.

The second problem is branch confusion. Five routes share track through Poplar and Westferry, and a train to Woolwich Arsenal looks exactly like a train to Beckton until you read the front of it. Getting it wrong on the Beckton branch costs you a trip back to Canning Town.

The third is weather. The best views on this railway are across open water at the Royal Docks, and in driving rain the windows are streaked and there is nothing to see. Save the Beckton run for a clear day and take the Bank to Lewisham route in bad weather, because half of its interest is between buildings.

Frequently asked questions

Can you really sit at the front of a DLR train?

Yes. The DLR is automatic and has no driver's cab, so the space at the front of the train is ordinary passenger seating with a full-height window ahead of it. A member of staff travels on board and can take manual control from a panel at the front, and on those journeys the seats are not available.

Which DLR route has the best view from the front?

Tower Gateway to Beckton, 29 minutes and £3.30 off-peak. It runs above ground the whole way and the stretch along the Royal Albert Dock puts London City Airport's runway across the water at eye level. Bank to Lewisham is the alternative if you would rather see Canary Wharf and the tunnel under the Thames.

How do I get the front seat on a busy DLR train?

Board at a terminus where the train starts empty, stand at the leaving end of the platform, and travel between 10:00 and 15:00 or on a Sunday morning rather than at the Canary Wharf peaks. If a small child wants the seat, convention says the adult moves.

How much does it cost to ride the DLR end to end?

The ordinary pay-as-you-go fare for the distance: £3.30 off-peak from Tower Gateway to Beckton, £3.10 from Bank to Lewisham. Both count towards your daily cap, so a DLR ride after a day of sightseeing often costs nothing extra.

Is the DLR good for wheelchair users and pushchairs?

It is the best railway in London for it. Every station is step-free from street to train and the platforms are level with the carriage floor, so there is no step to negotiate. Most stations are unstaffed, but staff ride on the trains and assistance can be booked in advance.

Sources

• Transport for London Unified API - DLR routes and stop sequences, all five branches (checked September 2026)
• Transport for London - the DLR, staffing, assistance and delay refunds (checked September 2026)
• Transport for London Unified API - single fare, Tower Gateway to Beckton (checked September 2026)
• Transport for London Unified API - single fare, Bank to Lewisham (checked September 2026)
• Transport for London - detailed station data: DLR platforms and level access (checked September 2026)
• Transport for London - daily and weekly capping (checked September 2026)