The Emirates Air Line cable car stations are served by train stations as well, with Emirates Greenwich Peninsula near North Greenwich on the Jubilee Line and Emirates Royal Docks near Royal Victoria on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). Since I’ve already covered the Emirates Air Line cable car, let’s try taking the same route by train to see if it’s any faster, since it would be definitely cheaper with a Zone 3 fare than the special fares on the Emirates Air Line.
Heading into Royal Victoria DLR Station. There are no ticket barriers at DLR-only stations, so remember to touch in with your Oyster or contactless card on the yellow Oyster readers to pay the correct fare or risk a penalty fare once tickets are checked on board.
A DLR for Beckton on the opposite platform.
Signs for the Emirates Air Line are pasted along the platform.
The station sign of Royal Victoria DLR Station.
My train to Canning Town for Poplar will arrive in 2 minutes.
And here comes my train.
The interior of the DLR.
As the DLR is driverless, the trains offer a nice front view.
The journey from Royal Victoria to Canning Town takes 2 minutes.
Heading down to the Jubilee Line platform.
And here comes the Jubilee Line train.
Boarding the Jubilee Line train.
The interior of the refurbished Jubilee Line 1996 Stock.
The high-capacity area of the refurbished Jubilee Line 1996 Stock, with perch seats installed in the center of the car near the doors.
The journey from Canning Town to North Greenwich takes 3 minutes.
Announcements are made in the Jubilee Line train to change for the Emirates Air Line and The O2 at North Greenwich.
Overall, the journey time alone by rail or flight (in the loose sense of the word) is comparable, however this excludes waiting time. You may experience longer waiting times on the DLR on the Beckton branch with the lower 10-minute frequencies, but the journey on the Emirates Air Line may also be slowed down during the boarding process with a crowd build-up.
Bottom line, I guess if cost is the main priority here, go for the trains, and if you want a scenic ride or have a Frequent Flyer ticket (£17.00/10 trips), go for the Emirates Air Line. If you are connecting from somewhere else and are already on the Jubilee Line or DLR, just remain on board and continue your journey since the initial waiting time is reduced to zero already.