Located next to One Canada Square and between two parts of a shopping centre (Cabot Place),[8] it serves the Canary Wharf office complex.

Each of its three tracks feature platforms on both sides, allowing for easy interchanges and access to surrounding buildings.

Canary Wharf is presently a terminus for the Stratford-Lewisham Line and services now only run to Lewisham in peak hours.

It soon became apparent that the Canary Wharf development would produce demand well above the capacity of a simple station.

On 17 July 1987 (over a month before the DLR opened to the public) a contract was awarded to GEC-Mowlem Railway Group to rebuild the station into the considerably more elaborate and spacious design that exists today.