Gallery Display - Emirates Air Line Cable Car

From Tuesday 29 November 2011

If you can’t wait until Summer 2012 for the grand opening of the Emirates Air Line, the UK’s first urban cable car, come along to our exciting brand new exhibit at the museum. Opening on Tuesday 29 November 2011 visitors will get their first taste of the new transport link in all its glory.

The interactive exhibit will be the first chance for the public to see up close the unique travelling experience that the Emirates Air Line will bring to commuters and visitors from across the globe. Highlights of the exhibit include a fully branded cabin, similar to the cabins that will take to the skies next year and fly users across the Thames every five minutes. Visitors will be able to board the cabin and see an animated film that gives an idea of the spectacular aerial views on offer once the link between the Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Victoria Dock is complete.

The Emirates Air Line will provide a new river crossing for London, travelling between two new terminals, Emirates Greenwich Peninsula and Emirates Royal Docks. Expected to take its first flight in Summer 2012 it will have a capacity to carry 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction, the equivalent to 30 buses an hour. The new transport initiative will also directly link the O2 – Europe’s biggest entertainment venue – and the ExCeL – Europe’s biggest conferencing venue and provide a new step-free interchange between the Jubilee line and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) whilst complementing the existing public transport network.

Work to construct the Emirates Air Line continues apace with the foundations to build the two terminals now complete. The steel towers which will hold up the cable line are currently being manufactured with molten metal being formed into giant steel blocks ready for construction. Over the next few weeks these will start to take shape with their installation planned to start before the year end.

Designed by Wilkinson Eyre and built by Mace the Emirates Air Line will be a low emission form of transport which will be able to accommodate wheelchairs and bicycles.