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.

The system is owned by Docklands Light Rail Limited, part of the London Rail division of Transport for London.

In a further sign of regeneration in the area, the Docklands now has its own symphony orchestra-Docklands Sinfonia-which was formed in January 2009 and is based at St Anne's Limehouse.

It is the second largest metro system in the world in terms of route miles, after the Shanghai Metro and part of the largest system in terms of route miles when taken together with the Docklands Light Railway. The light metro lines in London are operated by the Docklands Light Railway, whereas the Shanghai Metro is a group of four companies which operate heavy rail rapid transit and light metro lines.

It is based at the Arden Street Oval in the inner Melbourne suburb of North Melbourne, but plays its home matches at the nearby Docklands Stadium.

The Tube map is a schematic transit map representing the lines and stations of London's rapid transit railway systems, namely the London Underground ( commonly known as the Tube, hence the name ), the Docklands Light Railway, London Overground and the Emirates Air Line cable car.

** Docklands Light Railway: normally abbreviated DLR, this is the automatically driven light rail network in east London, although actual operation and maintenance is undertaken by a private sector franchisee.

London is divided in to eleven fare zones, with every station on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services, being in one, or in some cases, two zones.

** Docklands Light Railway in London, the first driverless railway in Great Britain, is formally opened by Elizabeth II.

It is based at Princes Park in Carlton, and played its home matches there throughout most of its history, but currently plays its home matches at either Docklands Stadium or the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Deptford is served by National Rail and Docklands Light Railway services.

Limehouse station, located to the immediate west of the Limehouse Basin, serves the c2c mainline trains out to Essex, and Docklands Light Railway, which is two stops from Bank & Tower Gateway in the City of London.

It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area.

In the southern part of the district, the nearest Docklands Light Railway station is Limehouse.

There is no Docklands Light Railway, London Underground or rail station in Thamesmead West.

West Ham station on Manor Road is served by the London Underground Jubilee, Hammersmith and City and District lines ; the National Rail c2c services ; and from 2010 the Docklands Light Railway.

The area is relatively affordable, given the short commuting distance to both central London and Canary Wharf, via the Docklands Light Railway.

* In Australia, the first edition of the Melbourne edition of Seven News is produced at the station's new Docklands studios.

The name London Docklands was used for the first time in a government report on redevelopment plans in 1971 but has since become virtually universally adopted.

However the club also hosts home matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Docklands Stadium ( currently also known by its sponsorship name as " Etihad Stadium ").

** Hilton Docklands Nelson Dock Pier, the official name of a pier on the south bank of the River Thames in Rotherhithe, London

Although it shares its name with the Docklands Light Railway station at Canary Wharf, the two are not directly integrated ( in fact, Heron Quays DLR station is nearer at street level ).

It takes its name from Canada Water, a lake which was created from a former dock in the London Docklands.

Docklands Stadium ( also known by its former sponsored names of Colonial Stadium and Telstra Dome and its current sponsorship name of Etihad Stadium ) is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

He published several novels, including the novelisation of his Doctor Who serial " The Mind Robber " for Target Books ; three novels in the " Crown House " series, Crown House ( 1988 ), Crown Papers ( 1989 ) and Crown Wars ( 1996 ); three in the " Docklands Saga " or " Watermen " series, High Water ( 1991 ), Flood Water ( 1992 ) and Storm Water ( 1993 ); two stand-alone novels, Halfway to Heaven ( 1994 ) and Happy Tomorrow ( 1995 ); and bodice-rippers under the name Petra Lee.

The London Docklands Development Corporation ( LDDC ), needing to provide public transport cheaply for the former docks area to stimulate regeneration, considered several proposals and chose a light rail scheme using dock railway infrastructure to link the West India Docks to Tower Hill and to run alongside the Great Eastern line out of London to a northern terminus at, where a disused bay platform at the west of the station was available, for interchange with the Central Line and main lines.

To address this problem, in 1981 the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine, formed the London Docklands Development Corporation ( LDDC ) to redevelop the area.

The Docklands ' status as a symbol of Thatcher's Britain has also made it a target for terrorists.

The Docklands are also the location of District 1, the most functional section of Britain during the outbreak of Rage Virus and the headquarters for Army Officials in Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's 2007 movie 28 Weeks Later.

At the highest degree of separation, it can be difficult to draw the line between light rail and metros, as in the case of Wuppertal's Schwebebahn hanging rail system or London's Docklands Light Railway, which would likely not be considered " light " were it not for the contrast between it and the London Underground ; many consider these not to be " light rail " lines but light metros.

The Docklands was high on the government's agenda, however, the government at the time could not afford to initiate the investment for the project so the Docklands project stayed on the drawing board.

There was a bid for the 1992 Olympic Games and another proposal was to turn the Docklands into a technology city known as the Multifunction Polis ( MFP ).

In March 2010 Richard tried for the world record of putting a round of golf in the dark at the Black Light Mini Golf in The Docklands, Melbourne, Australia.

After standing derelict for some years, many of the wharves were redeveloped under the aegis of the London Docklands Development Corporation during the 1980s.

* Lewisham for Docklands Light Railway

* A new Docklands Light Railway station for central Woolwich opened on the 10th January 2009, linked to Woolwich Arsenal railway station.

* Dublin Docklands, Dublin, Ireland ( used for opening Belfast scenes )

This allows them to take off from the short runway of City airport which is located in the London Docklands area, stop for fuel in Shannon while passengers go through pre-clearance and arrive without the need to go through immigration or customs.

Within London, they are also responsible for policing of the London Underground, Tramlink and the Docklands Light Railway.

Woolwich Arsenal was expanded in 2009, when Transport for London completed the construction of an extension of the London City Airport branch of the Docklands Light Railway from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal, which is the branch's new terminus.

Alternatively, passengers can walk to Mansion House ( 3 minutes ), the next stop along from Cannon Street, or to Bank ( 4 minutes ), for the Northern, Central or Waterloo & City lines, and the Docklands Light Railway.

Funding for the second phase of the work was delayed throughout the 1970s whilst the route beyond Charing Cross was reviewed to consider options for serving anticipated development in the London Docklands area.

In July 2005, Ove Arup & Partners produced a report, DLR Horizon 2020 Study, for the Docklands Light Railway ( DLR ) examining " pragmatic development schemes " to expand and improve the DLR network between 2012 and 2020.

The airport was first proposed in 1981 by Reg Ward, who was Chief Executive of the newly formed London Docklands Development Corporation ( LDDC ) that was responsible for the regeneration of the area.