Emirates Air Line (cable car)

The idea for a cable car linking the Greenwich Peninsula with the north bank of the Thames first emerged during the development of the "car free" transport strategy for the Millennium Dome (now The O2) in the late 1990s. Presented to planning authorities in early 1997 by Meridian Cable Cars, this link would have run from the Dome site to the DLR's East India station in Tower Hamlets.[12]

The cable car was costed at £8-10 million, and 23 gondolas, each with seating for 9 and standing room for a further 6, would have travelled at 5mph between 50 and 80m in the air, taking 3 minutes to make a one-way trip. This providing at capacity of 2,500 passengers per hour each way.[13][14] Full planning permission was granted in December 1997 and July 1998 for the northern and southern sides respectively, the northern side permission being one of the last acts of the London Dockland Development Corporation.[12] An opening date of October 1999 was planned,[15] but because of negative reactions from the administrators of the Dome project, financial bankers pulled out and the cable car project collapsed in October 1998.[14]

On 4 July 2010, Transport for London (TfL) announced plans to develop a cable car crossing over the River Thames, which would be the first urban cable car in the United Kingdom. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Expedition Engineering and Buro Happold, it crosses the river at a height up to 90 metres (300 ft), higher than that of the nearby O2 Arena. The cable car provides a crossing every 15 seconds, with a maximum capacity of 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction, about 50 busloads.[16] Bicycles may be carried. Passengers can pay for their journeys with pay-as-you-go Oyster cards.[17]

A planning application was submitted to the London Borough of Newham in October 2010 for the "erection of a cable car for the length of 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) over the River Thames from North Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Victoria Dock at a minimum clearance of 54.1 metres (177 ft) above mean high water springs".[18] 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 roughly midway between Canning Town and West Silvertown stations, a two-storey gondola station and "boat impact protection" in Royal Victoria Dock.[18] South of the river 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.[17] This figure was first revised to £45 million,[19] and by September 2011 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.[19] 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.[19] €9.7m of ERDF support, out of an estimated €65.56m total budget, was agreed on 9 July 2012.[20]

In January 2011, News International was planning to sponsor the project, but withdrew its offer.[21] In October 2011 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.[3]

The north-eastern terminal under construction beside Royal Victoria Dock, February 2012

Construction began in August 2011 with Mace as the lead contractor.[22] Mace built the cable car for £45 million and was to operate it for the first three years for a further £5.5 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.[3] In 2011 it was the most expensive cable car system ever built.[11]

Two gondolas approaching the north intermediate tower

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 2012 Olympic Games, there would be plans in place in case it was opened in time.[23] The public opening took place at noon on 28 June 2012, almost a month before the Opening Ceremony of the games.[7][24] 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 2,500 people per hour.[25]

Woman boarding passenger gondola at Royal Victoria

There are 36 passenger gondolas, of which 34 are in use at any one time, with a maximum capacity of 10 passengers each.[26] All passenger gondolas are ready for disabled persons using wheelchairs, including those ones with leg rest extensions. There are also two (open) engineers' gondolas for use by maintenance staff.

On 21 March 2020, TfL suspended the service cable car until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[27]

The eastern end of the cable car line (51.5077°N 0.0179°E / 51.5077; 0.0179 (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 2012 London Olympics. The closest interchange to the Docklands Light Railway is at Royal Victoria station.

Greenwich Peninsula station at night

The western end of the cable car line (51.4998°N 0.0083°E / 51.4998; 0.0083 (Emirates Air Line (Greenwich terminus))) is within walking distance of The O₂, which hosted artistic gymnastics and basketball events at the 2012 Olympics. The closest interchange with the London Underground is at North Greenwich. The nearest London River Services is at North Greenwich Pier and local London Buses services at North Greenwich bus station.