Thames cable car work to start in summer

[deltabravo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13113801

 

[atomicdanny]

Personally I think it'll be an eyesore just like the shard (but that's only my opinion), although it would probably bring more money into London of course even though its looks pointless (to me that is!)

 

[anthony263]

I do admit this is pointless, i am actually surprised they are building it as i thought i was just a joke when it was first suggested.

 

[ushawk]

I do admit this is pointless, i am actually surprised they are building it as i thought i was just a joke when it was first suggested.

Exactly what i think, i think a boat link would be been better, but even thats a bit pointless.

 

[Yew]

Have the navy ships tha thave been scrapped, make a bridge out of them, then float it away after the event.

And cablecars are cool

 

[sprinterguy]

And cablecars are cool

A zip wire would be even more fun though!

Ever since first hearing about it, this has struck me as a strange project, destined to be as much of a white elephant as the Dome which it will serve. There have got to be better ways of making a pedestrian cross-river link around this area. And while the risk of it interfering with flight paths at London Airport is claimed to be as low as one incident every fifteen million years, it still strikes me as bizarre to install a set of steel cables up in the sky so close to an airport. I mean, have you seen the artists’ impressions? It’s absolutely massive!

 

[junglejames]

Interesting. Not sure its really needed, but i'll definitely go on it!

 

[WestCoast]

I am very surprised at the ambitious timescale they are aiming to work to, to be honest I have a strong feeling that it won't be completed by the Oympics! Also, if it's being paid for by TfL I should expect it to have integrated fares..

Still the London area will now have an Underground railway, an Overground railway, buses, trams, boats, a Light railway and now a cable car!

 

[jopsuk]

Funnily enough, the orginal promise of it being entirely pribvately financed has come to naught, so it will be publically financed. I've read that even if it was at maximum capacity all the time, and charging £3.50 a ride(!), it still would fail to make back the OPERATING costs, let alone the capital.

 

[Deerfold]

I am very surprised at the ambitious timescale they are aiming to work to, to be honest I have a strong feeling that it won't be completed by the Oympics! Also, if it's being paid for by TfL I should expect it to have integrated fares..

Still the London area will now have an Underground railway, an Overground railway, buses, trams, boats, a Light railway and now a cable car!

Precious little information available on likely fares, but TfL have said it will accept oyster.

Not an obvious flow (with connections...) that many people are likely to want to do though, I wouldn't have thought.

 

[junglejames]

Funnily enough, the orginal promise of it being entirely pribvately financed has come to naught, so it will be publically financed. I've read that even if it was at maximum capacity all the time, and charging £3.50 a ride(!), it still would fail to make back the OPERATING costs, let alone the capital.

Hate to think what those operating costs are then. Either that or it wont have much capacity!

Even if it did cover operating costs though, i wouldnt expect it to cover the original capital. I dont expect anything like this to cover the original capital.
Certainly not when maintenance is taken into account.

 

[Deerfold]

Certainly not when maintenance is taken into account.

Isn't that part of operating costs?

 

[WatcherZero]

Hate to think what those operating costs are then. Either that or it wont have much capacity!

Even if it did cover operating costs though, i wouldnt expect it to cover the original capital. I dont expect anything like this to cover the original capital.
Certainly not when maintenance is taken into account.

Pathetically small capacity

 

[Sun Chariot]

Interesting. Not sure its really needed, but i'll definitely go on it!

As a frustrated user of the often-suspended eastern end of the Jubilee Line, at least it makes for an alternative commuting option...

Mind you, now the weather's warmer, the Thames Clipper fast catamarans are the only way to travel - and they have a bar on board. Morning rush-hour beer...

 

[Yew]

A zip wire would be even more fun though!

I would vote for that. Or maybe some cablecar-zipwire hybrid?

 

[anthony263]

I am going to place a bet that this will not be completed in time for the olympic's. pity they didnt have a monorail now that would be interesting

 

[jopsuk]

a genuine, bona fide, electrified, six-car, monorail?

 

[LE Greys]

Well, I thought it was a joke as well. It saves having to build a swing bridge to let the river traffic through, although something like the tilting bridge in Newcastle would be OK. I'll have a go on it, but it does seem a bit silly.

 

[jon0844]

a genuine, bona fide, electrified, six-car, monorail?

Monorail!

Monorail!

 

[Deerfold]

I would vote for that. Or maybe some cablecar-zipwire hybrid?

Do you have to swing to avoid the cablecar on your journey?

 

[rb311]

Like another pointless transport project, I am surprised that no one has said it will free up capacity on existing thames crossings.

 

[jopsuk]

Well, I thought it was a joke as well. It saves having to build a swing bridge to let the river traffic through, although something like the tilting bridge in Newcastle would be OK. I'll have a go on it, but it does seem a bit silly.

It would need to be quite a high tilting bridge to avoid adding restrictions to the river- there's quite a few fairly large sailing yachts live up river of Greenwich. Any crossings created are not allowed to reduce the clearence available.

 

[sprinterguy]

It would need to be quite a high tilting bridge to avoid adding restrictions to the river- there's quite a few fairly large sailing yachts live up river of Greenwich. Any crossings created are not allowed to reduce the clearence available.

The clearance offered by the Millenium Bridge between Gateshead and Newcastle in the raised position matches that of the Tyne Bridge behind it: 25 metres (82'). The Thames Cable car is to be built to offer a clearance of at least twice that at 54 metres (It will be even higher at the towers on each bank of the river to cater for the sag in the cables), so it would indeed have to be quite a large tilting bridge.

The length would be far greater as well I think.

 

[LE Greys]

The clearance offered by the Millenium Bridge between Gateshead and Newcastle in the raised position matches that of the Tyne Bridge behind it: 25 metres (82'). The Thames Cable car is to be built to offer a clearance of at least twice that at 54 metres (It will be even higher at the towers on each bank of the river to cater for the sag in the cables), so it would indeed have to be quite a large tilting bridge.

The length would be far greater as well I think.

Scale it up by x2, possibly with fixed walkways up to the tilting section. Otherwise, look at a bascule bridge with a decent-sized lifting section, but there we would have to think about using it for road vehicles as well as pedestrians. Still, even with a 1:1 scale version, 82 ft is probably just sufficient for a Thames barge to pass underneath with the mast raised. Not many yachts have taller masts than Thames barges. Scaled up by x2 gives 164 ft, which is higher than the 143 ft of Tower Bridge with the bascules raised.