cable car

The green way to cross the Thames: by cable car

· Better idea than planned £500m bridge, experts say
· East London system could ferry 5,000 people an hour


Cologne's cable car first crossed the Rhine in 1957.

An Alpine-style cable car to ferry people across the Thames in east London should replace plans for a £500m six-lane road bridge, say leading transport analysts commissioned by Transport for London. The bridge has been strongly opposed by local people and environment groups.

The new study compares six alternative types of river crossing to the road bridge, which is presently locked in a second public inquiry. They include a rail-only bridge, a river ferry crossing, a walk and cycle-only bridge, and a car bridge which is adapted to take more public transport.

All would be better than the road-only bridge, say the study authors, professors of transport at the Stockholm Environment Institute, University College London, and the University of Wuppertal in Germany. But a cable car across the Thames would be the most sustainable. It would be significantly cheaper than a bridge, and would greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, encourage cycling and walking, and could be erected in time for the Olympics in 2012, they say.

Cable cars are increasingly used for mass transit in world cities and across rivers because they need little space, have virtually no waiting time, can run at over 20mph, and have very low emissions. They are already used in New York, Istanbul, Vancouver, Madrid, Caracas and Hamburg, and other cities are planning systems. A cable car has crossed the Rhine in Cologne since 1957.

The report suggests that a cable car system could take up to 5,000 people an hour in each direction over the river between Beckton and Thamesmead, with cable cars arriving every 22 seconds. It would only take only two minutes to cross the river and could link in with other public transport systems and City airport.

The bridge option, first considered more than 20 years ago, was strongly backed by the previous mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and the government, who have argued that it would help regenerate some of the poorest areas of London and be integral to redevelopment plans for the Thames Gateway. But it was strongly opposed by local people and national environment groups who say it would lead to more congestion and pollution, with very little regeneration benefits. A public inquiry inspector recommended that planning application for the bridge be refused but the government overruled him, saying the inquiry should be reopened.

The cable car option is likely to be taken seriously. Boris Johnson, mayor of London since the start of May and now chair of Transport for London, said before his election that he was not satisfied with the £500m bridge option as it stood.

Environmental groups welcomed the cable car option yesterday. "Transport for London must abandon its plans for a new road bridge and develop the Thames Gateway in a way that will help tackle climate change and improve the quality of life for local people," said Jennifer Bates, Friends of the Earth's London Campaign coordinator.