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The Thames Cable Car
Well it’s finally here, our new state-of-the-art
Thames Cable Car which crosses the river to connect
The O
2
Arena, Europe’s biggest entertainment venue,
with the ExCel Centre, Europe’s biggest conferenc-
ing venue. Both are Olympic venues. I say cable car,
but it’s official name is the Emirates Air Line after
the Dubai-based Emirates secured a deal to sponsor
the project for 10 years at a cost of £36m. Initially
it was budgeted that the £25 million cost would be
entirely funded by private finance. However, this
figure was increased (some might say inevitably)
to £45 million, and by completion had more than
doubled to £60 million. They had forgotten some
minor expenses such as legal advice, and, of course,
buying the land to build on.
The sponsorship caused a minor controversy as it’ll
be the first time that a corporate logo has appeared
on the Underground map. However the cable car
itself seems to be proving popular; Friends of the
Earth has given it the thumbs up for being an
environmentally-friendly step forward for London
traffic.
There were doubts that it was going to be ready in
time for the Games. Transport for London (TfL) had
said all along that it was never meant as an Olympic
project, but they officially opened to the public at
midday on Thursday 28 June.
The cable car was constructed by Mace, famous for
building the London Eye and the Shard - both of
which have become iconic features of the
London skyline. Construction was completed with the
1.1km cable being put in place in April 2012. Test flights
then began in May. This is when people began to wonder
if it’d be ready for the Olympics - officially it was never
meant to be, but wouldn’t it be brilliant if it was?
So on a daily basis I was on the internet investigating
rumours and following any leads to find out when the
cable car would open. Then one morning over my cereal
(something healthy, I’ve decided at 23 I’m far too old for
delicious chocolateyness) I heard an announcement on
the news. I was immediately on the phone tracking down
details about the opening. Just like information about
group bookings exact details of the opening ceremony
proved to be elusive but when the big day arrived,
unperturbed, Raman and I, armed with our cameras and
fully loaded Oyster cards headed over to take a look.
It’s very close to the office, our home patch really.