[note 1] Before the arrival of the Jubilee line, London's Docklands had suffered from relatively poor public transport.

Although the Docklands Light Railway station at Canary Wharf had been operating since 1987, by 1990 it was obvious that the DLR's capacity would soon be reached.

[10] The tube station was intended from the start to be the showpiece of the Jubilee Line Extension, and the contract for its design was awarded in 1990 to the architect Sir Norman Foster.

This was eventually introduced into service during 2011 after many delays and teething problems and allows a more intensive timetable to operate with 30 trains per hour running in the peaks.

[17] In a 2013 poll conducted by YouGov, it was voted as the "Most Loved" tube station in London[18] and "despite its immense volume [it is] comfortable and inviting".

It had originally been intended that the infilled section of the dock would be reinstated above the station, but this proved impractical because of technical difficulties and the park was created instead.

A scissors crossover west of the station allows trains from Stanmore to enter either the east- or west-bound platform at the station, and trains from Stratford enter the normal westbound platform and can use this scissors crossover to reverse back towards Stratford.

[27] Canary Wharf Group (CWG) has called for the Bakerloo line extension to Lewisham to be diverted to Surrey Quays and Canary Wharf from Old Kent Road, before running to Charlton, CWG suggest the current Jubilee Line not being able to cope with demand from the yet to be approved new Canada Water scheme.

[30] On 9 January 2013, the station appeared on a £1.28 British postage stamp as part of a set commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first London underground train journey.

The location shoot took place between midnight and 4 am, when the station was closed to the public, and was commented on by Star Wars fans using Twitter.