TfL have announced plans for a cross-Thames cable car system to run between the Greenwich Peninsular and the Royal Docks.
The system would look to provide a new crossing option approximately 50m above the Thames for pedestrians and cyclists east of London Bridge. There would be the potential for crossings every 30 seconds which would take approximately 5 minutes to complete. TfL have indicated that any system used would also support Oyster PAYG.
The possibility of a cable car crossing on the Thames was first raised in the East London River Crossing Report that TfL put together last July. That report investigated the possibility of a cable car linking Canary Wharf to the O2. Ultimately the report concluded that a scheme between those two points should not be taken forward – it represented bad value for public money in comparison to ferry services, landing sites would be tricky to find and it was not likely to be supported by Canary Wharf Group.
The report did, however, recommend that the possibility of a privately funded cable car system between the O2 and ExCEL be further investigated . Such a scheme would be more appealling to private backers and a landing at Royal Docks – where a significant amount of land is in public hands – was far more likely to be possible. This is the scheme that TfL are putting forward here and a public consultation on it is scheduled to begin shortly.
Plans for the scheme are still in an early stage and there are a number of obstacles that will need to be confronted if it is to be advanced. The largest of these is the issue of finance – the scheme will have to be fully funded by the private sector, with TfL estimating a cost of £25m to get it off the ground. No backers have yet been confirmed, although TfL indicate they are in negotiations with a number of interested parties.
Planning permission also still needs to be sought, and the location may present additional issues here – the proposed site is on the approach to London City Airport and there are CAA guidelines governing tall structures on the approach.
Overall, therefore, there is still plenty to be done before this scheme can be taken forward. Whether it proceeds or not, however, it at least shows that some thought is taking place into what can be completed relatively fast and relatively cheaply to alleviate the current issues that abound when trying to cross the Thames to the east.
Indeed if nothing else, it at least seems to demonstrate that the East London River Crossing Report wasn’t simply an exercise aimed at ticking political boxes.
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