Thames Cable Car

[nashoi]

I admit to being a bit gormless at times but I'm surprised even I have managed to remain entirely unaware of this until driving past it today. The official name is the Emirates Air Line, it looks like an 8 man bubble from a ski resort running from the Excel to the O2, over 200ft up and costing about ?60mn.

In exchange for about half the cost, Emirates get to name the line, both the stations and get their logo on the tube map. Apart from the fact the name they've chosen is bloody awful, is the corporate naming of public infrastructure something we can now expect? Will anyone actually use this?

emirates-air-line-london-cable-car-across-the-thames

Muttering cyclists

[KidKruger]

I saw this huge tower on Saturday morning driving around after Billingsgate, I wondered what it was but figured when I saw the cables heading down to Excel that it must be a cable car or something. Timely that you post this.

?60m seems a lot of dough for a cable car. Imagine spending that on something useful for London !

[Otta]

I work over that way, and this is the first I've heard. Doh!

[maxxi]

I went on the rickety old one in Barcelona (from the port up to Montjuic Hill) - quite buttock tightening. Maybe the plan is to scare the shit out of rich tourists and fleece them as they exit and before their disrupted synapses can reconnect.

[TheArtfulDogger]

such last centry thinking nashoi

Corporate naming of public things started with the British Airways London Eye, how much did that cost and how much has it raised since ?

I like the idea of something different for London

[nashoi]

Not quite the same thing Artful Dogger. The London Eye (now the EDF Energy London Eye btw) was an entirely new, privately funded tourist attraction, they can call it what they like. The tube map is one of the great iconic symbols of London, I think we've allowed someone to buy a part of that image really rather cheaply.