A Showpiece cable car that should provide visitors with spectacular views of the UK’s capital city is expected to be operational in time for the 2012 Olympic Games.
There had been doubts over whether the £50m structure would be available in time for the opening of the Olympic Games on July 27, but according to the Daily Mail, Justine Greening, the transport secretary, has received an application for final approval. If the cable car gets the expected go-ahead, visitors to the games will be able to use it to travel between the O2 Arena and the ExCel exhibition centre, two of the Olympic venues.
Emirates Airways has sponsored the hi-tech transportation system, and its 34 gondolas are expected to have enough capacity to convey 2,500 passengers per hour on the five-minute journey across the river from the Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Docks.
Whilst falling short of confirming that the cable car would definitely be open in time for the games, Boris Johnson, London’s lord mayor, commented, ‘Gliding serenely through the air across the Thames will provide a truly sublime, bird’s eye view of our wonderful city. This innovative airborne travel link will be a vital component in the ongoing renaissance of a vibrant easterly quarter of the Capital, providing a much-needed river crossing.’
How much the fare will be for the aerial trip across the river has yet to be announced, but as a tourist attraction the cable car will rival the London Eye, a 135-metre Ferris wheel that has been situated on the south bank of the Thames in central London since 1999.
