London cable car

The London cable car, also called the Dangleway, is a 1 km gondola link that crosses the River Thames from the Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Victoria Dock in Newham. It runs 90 m above the water, higher than the nearby O2 dome, and carries up to 2,500 people each hour. Two main towers and an intermediate tower support the single cable, with stations on both riverbanks. The line was designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and built by Doppelmayr for about £60 million. It opened in June 2012 and has operated under different sponsors since then. The crossing takes three minutes and offers a clear view of London’s skyline and the river below. Bicycles can be carried, and passengers pay with Oyster cards. The system uses detachable gondolas, with 34 in service at any time, each holding up to ten people. Two open engineers’ gondolas are used by maintenance staff for inspections. The route appears on the Tube map as a triple red stripe, marking it apart from underground lines. Visitors step into bright red gondolas and ride past the O2’s white dome and the dock’s waterside buildings. The glass-walled stations let in daylight, and the smooth motion gives a steady view of passing boats and landmarks. On clear days the view stretches to Canary Wharf and the Thames Barrier. The cable car runs every fifteen seconds, making it a quick way to cross the river while seeing the city from above.