The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has hailed a new weapon in his fight to cut crime in the capital – a revamped Docklands Light Railway station

Crime figures for Shadwell station, in the borough of Tower Hamlets, have dropped since Transport for London transformed its dark and dingy entrance hall into a bright open space.

There has been just one crime at the station since the revamp in May, but there were six crimes there between May and June last year, according to British Transport Police figures.

And whereas before many residents were too afraid even to use it, now 75 per cent of them say they feel safer in it after the £2.5m refit, according to an independent survey.

The Mayor said: ‘It is the right of every Londoner to feel safe when they travel around their city, and I am determined to make the transport system as safe as possible in order to achieve this.

‘Shadwell is a great example of quite literally giving criminals nowhere to hide – where before it was difficult to see people lingering in corners now it’s a wonderful open space that the community can use with confidence.’

Robert Niven, Head of Development and Planning for DLR, said: ‘We are delighted by the results at Shadwell, particularly among local residents who say the refurbishment has made a real difference.

‘The DLR has always been an extremely safe way of getting around London, but our programme of improvements are clearly making it even safer.’

Improvements to the station included:

– making entrance and exits more obvious

– introducing more and clearer signs and better paving and lighting

– adding CCTV cameras

– converting an adjoining railway arch into an internet café

– moving a newsagent to a more prominent station location

– installing public art and a bike shelter

The Mayor’s words were echoed by Chief Supt Miles Flood of the British Transport Police who said the improvements had helped discourage criminal activity.

‘The Shadwell station improvements really complement the work that our DLR Neighbourhood Policing Team is doing with staff and passengers to reduce the already low level of crime and make people feel even safer.’

Background Information

• 158 local residents were interviewed by independent researchers GFK NOP for the survey

• Refurbishment work began in July 2006.

• Shadwell is used by 16,000 passengers a day

• Other refurbished DLR stations are Gallions Reach and King George V, which form part of a network-wide programme to improve DLR station environments.