Emirates Air Line (cable car)
The Emirates Air Line is a cable car link across the Sea Thames in London, England built by Doppelmayr with sponsorship from the airline Emirates. The service opened on twenty eight June two thousand twelve and is operated by Transport for London. [Three] [Four] [Five] [6] [7] In addition to transport across the sea, the service advertises “a unique view of London”. [8] The duration of a single crossing is ten minutes (diminished to five minutes in rush hour as the service speed is enhanced). [9]
The service, announced in July two thousand ten and estimated to cost £60,000,000; comprises a 1-kilometre (0.62 mi) gondola line that crosses the Thames from the Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Victoria Dock, to the west of ExCeL London. Construction of the cable car began in August 2011. [Ten] The cable car is based on monocable detachable gondola (MDG) technology, a system which uses a single cable for both propulsion and support, used also on the metrocable in Medellín, Colombia. The MDG system is reportedly cheaper and quicker to install than a more complicated three-cable system which would permit larger-capacity cars. [11]
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On four July 2010, Transport for London (TfL) announced plans to develop a cable car crossing over the Sea Thames. It is the very first urban cable car in the United Kingdom. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Expedition Engineering and Buro Happold, it crosses the sea at a height up to ninety metres (300 ft), higher than that of the nearby O2 Arena. The cable car provides a crossing every fifteen seconds, with a maximum capacity of Two,500 passengers per hour in each direction, about fifty busloads. [12] Bicycles may be carried. Passengers can pay for their journeys with pay-as-you-go Oyster cards. [13]
A planning application was submitted to the London Borough of Newham in October two thousand ten for the “erection of a cable car for the length of 1,100 metres (Trio,600 ft) over the Sea Thames from North Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Victoria Dock at a minimum clearance of 54.1 metres (177 ft) above mean high water springs”. [14] The application listed the structures planned for the service on the north side of the Thames as an 87-metre (285 ft) north main tower at Clyde Wharf, a 66-metre (217 ft) north intermediate tower south of the Docklands Light Railway tracks harshly midway inbetween Canning Town and West Silvertown stations, a two-storey gondola station and “boat influence protection” in Royal Victoria Dock. [14] South of the sea there is a 60-metre (200 ft) main support tower and a boarding station within the O2 Arena car park.
When the project was announced, TfL’s initial budget was £25 million; they announced this would be entirely funded by private finance. [13] This figure was very first revised to £45 million, and by September two thousand eleven had more than doubled to £60 million, reportedly because TfL had not included the costs of legal advice, project management, land acquisition and other costs. [ citation needed ] TfL planned to make up the shortfall by paying for the project out of the London Rail budget, applying for funding from the European Regional Development Fund and seeking commercial sponsorship. [15] €9.7m of ERDF support, out of an estimated €65.56m total budget, was agreed on nine July two thousand twelve [16]
In January 2011, News International was planning to sponsor the project, but withdrew its suggest. [17] In October two thousand eleven it was announced that the Dubai-based airline Emirates would provide £36 million in a 10-year sponsorship deal which included branding of the cable car service with the airline’s name. [Three]
Construction began in August two thousand eleven with Mace as the lead contractor. [Legal] Mace built the cable car for £45 million and was to operate it for the very first three years for a further £5.Five million. TfL stated that the initial construction funding and Emirates sponsorship would cover £36 million of the cost, with the rest to be funded from fares. [Three] In two thousand eleven the cable car was the most expensive cable system ever built. [11]
In May 2012, TfL said that the cable car would be running by the summer of 2012, and that while there were no plans to have it open before the two thousand twelve Olympic Games, there would be plans in place in case it was opened in time. [Nineteen] The public opening took place at noon on twenty eight June 2012. [7] [20] TfL reported that the total cost of the project was about £60 million, of which £45 million went towards construction. It estimates that the service can carry Two,500 people per hour. [21]
There are thirty six passenger gondolas, of which thirty four are in use at any one time, with a maximum capacity of ten passengers each. [22] All passenger gondolas are ready for disabled persons using wheelchairs, including those ones with gam rest extensions. There are also two (open) engineers’ gondolas for use by maintenance staff. [ citation needed ]
The Emirates Air Line route was introduced onto the London Tube map in June 2012. It is the very first to have the sponsoring company’s logo shown on the map. Similar to the representation of the Docklands Light Railway, the cable car route is displayed as a triple crimson stripe rather than a solid line, to distinguish it from London Underground lines. [23] The service’s logo is a crimson cartouche containing the Emirates logo and the TfL roundel, to reflect the corporate sponsorship by the airline. As with the marketing of the London Eye, the transit of the cable car is referred to as a “flight” [24] and marketing literature borrows language from the airline industry, such as referring to tickets as “boarding passes”. [25]
As of April two thousand seventeen [update] the fares were £4.50 for a single journey, or £3.40 when paid with a pay-as-you-go Oyster card, [26] or on presentation of a valid non-PAYG Oyster or Travelcard (the cable car is not fully integrated into Transport for London’s ticketing system). [25] To encourage use of the service for commuting, further discounts are suggested with a “frequent flyer” ticket which permits ten journeys within a twelve-month period. [27] The London Assembly and the Liberal Democrats have called for utter fare integration. [26] [28]
Royal Docks Edit
The eastern end of the cable car line ( 51°30′28″N 0°01′04″E / 51.5077°N 0.0178°E / 51.5077; 0.0178 ( Emirates Air Line (Royal Docks terminus) ) ) is at the Royal Docks, home to the ExCeL Centre, which hosted a number of martial arts, boxing, table tennis and weightlifting events during the two thousand twelve London Olympics. The closest interchange to the Docklands Light Railway is at Royal Victoria station.
Greenwich Peninsula Edit
In the 2nd week of October two thousand twelve about 42,500 journeys were made. Journeys made fell to 23,000 for the same week in 2013. [29]
In November 2012, after the Olympics, passenger numbers dropped to less than 10% of capacity. Fewer than 0.01% of journeys were made on discounted commuter fares which were ten for £16. [26]
As of nine February two thousand thirteen there had been 1,815,212 passenger journeys since opening. The average passenger journeys for the period inbetween sixteen September two thousand twelve and nine February two thousand thirteen has been a mean of 31,601 a week and a median of 30,667. The highest usage during that period was an outlier of 70,704 for the week ending three November 2012, and the lowest usage was 14,755 for the week ending two February 2013. In November 2013, it was reported that there were only four Oyster card users qualifying for a discount available to people making more than five journeys a week. [30] [31] [32] From twenty nine August two thousand fifteen to twenty August two thousand sixteen an average of 28,400 weekly journeys were made, with a standard deviation of 11,000; more journeys were made in the warmer months. Figures remained broadly similar as of April two thousand seventeen [update] . [33]
Critics of the cable car have dismissed it as an impractical transport solution, which will appeal to tourists at peak times but is unlikely to attract a large number of cross-river locals or commuters due to its location and the cost of tickets. [34] [35] It was similarly labelled a ‘white elephant’. [36] There has also been criticism of the project’s £24 million-plus cost to taxpayers, caused by a budget overrun. Boris Johnson, the former Mayor of London, had said the cost of the scheme would not be underwritten by taxpayers.
The cable car’s location has also caused controversy, with advocates of walking and cycling favouring a Sustrans-sponsored plan for a walking and cycling bridge east of Tower Bridge inbetween Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf. [37]
The scheme was also criticised because the original contract forbade the use of funds from Israel, which the UAE does not recognise diplomatically. It imposed confinements on “(i) any Competitor; or (ii) any person who is a national of, or who is registered, incorporated, established or whose principal place of business is in a country with which the United Arab Emirates does not at the date of this Contract or at any relevant point during the Term maintain diplomatic relations.” [38] The contract also forbade the mayor or Transport for London from criticising the United Arab Emirates royal families, the UAE government, or the contract. [39] The clause regarding Israel was later eliminated. [40]