Docklands Night Railway

The DLR (Docklands Light Railway, London) was opened in 1987 with 15 stations but rapidly expanded to a current tally of 45 stations. Most DLR stations are relatively mundane during the daytime, but at night, even the older-style stations take on a magical feel when you look at them from the front of the train. The platform light bleeds onto the tracks, shooting out of the station like starbursts. The two platforms are brilliantly lit with the metal grooves slicing through them, and the whole thing looks like an oasis of lights in the darkness. Mostly, they are high above the streets, sometimes underground, and often surrounded by apartment blocks, but the nighttime highlights their architecture and makes them come alive.