London to Get Cable Car

May 20, 2011

Construction of the proposed London cable car project seems likely to start this summer after a number of delays and doubts.

The scheme is intended to connect the O2 Arena on the Greenwich Peninsula with the Excel exhibition centre at the Royal Docks. The distance of over one kilometre will be transversed by 50 millimetre steel cables strung between 90 metre high towers. A total of 34 cars will be wheelchair accessible and allow bicycles on board. They will carry ten people each and will enable a capacity of up to 2,500 passengers per hour.

Barcelona's Famous Cable Car System

It was originally hoped that operations would start in time for the 2012 London Olympics but this is now in doubt. The project was designed by architect Wilkinson Eyre, with plans submitted to the London Borough of Newham in September 2010. However, after recommending the project for approval, concerns were expressed by Friends of the Earth that the cable cars would travel through the Public Safety Zone of the London City Airport.

The concerns were sufficient for the application to be withdrawn while a review was conducted by the National Air Traffic Services, which determined that the safety risks were within acceptable limits. The planning application was eventually approved with London Mayor Boris Johnson maintaining that the scheme does not cross the safety zone. He conceded, however,that cars will cross the western tip if a proposal by the Civil Aviation Authority to extend the zone is confirmed.
Further controversy has been caused by the Mayor’s original assertion that the scheme would be completely privately funded. In the event, the estimated cost of £25 million has now just about doubled and financing is required from Transport for London’s budget. The London Development Agency has been required to put up some £1.2 million to get the scheme off the ground. Development funding is now being sought by asking companies to bid for sponsorship and naming rights while further finance will come from a commercial partner and fare income.
The cable car scheme is expected to provide an environmentally friendly route across the Thames for both residents and tourists. It is hoped that it will help to regenerate parts of the local area and bring investment to a nearby Enterprise Zone. Nevertheless, questions have been asked as to whether it is the most cost-effective transport policy and there is a feeling it is going ahead because it is a high profile project. It is, however, considered to be a reasonably quick way of providing a new river crossing and will alleviate some problems at a much lower cost than a new bridge or of providing additional ferry infrastructure.
Mace have been appointed as the design and build contractor, with a capital cost of £45 million and running costs of £5.5 million for the first three years. It will work with cable manufacturer Dopplemayr, steel contractor Watson Steel of the Severfield Rowen Group, lead consultant URS Scott Wilson, structural engineer Buro Happold and architect Aedas. Mace has been involved with other major London projects such as the Shard, Tate Modern, the London Eye and the 2012 Olympics.