This isn’t your typical sprawling Tube nightmare. No, the station at London City Airport is more like a polite nudge than a commute. It’s about a 90-second walk from the check-in desks to the platform. Seriously, you blink and you’re there. It’s the transport equivalent of ordering a coffee and getting it before you’ve even put your wallet away.
You step off your flight, grab your bag, and wander through the terminal. Before your brain has even registered you’re on holiday, you’re tapping an Oyster card. It feels like cheating. Like you’ve discovered a secret shortcut in a video game that skips the boring boss fight.
The DLR: A train that thinks it’s a rollercoaster
The station is on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which is a driverless train that feels like it’s making it up as it goes along. The DLR doesn’t do the whole “smooth Tube glide” thing. Oh no. It zips, tilts, and lunges through the sky like a caffeinated puppy on a lead. From the platform, you can practically see the runway, and that’s weirdly satisfying.
You’ll find yourself staring out the window at the planes taking off just a few meters away. It’s like the train and the plane are racing each other. Except one of them has wings, and the other has a drunk steering algorithm. It’s bizarrely entertaining, especially when you’re not the one trying to fly.
