Boris plans new east Thames crossing

Transport for London has laid out plans to build a £25m cable car to cross the Thames, linking the millennium dome - now called the O2 - with the ExCel exhibition centre in the royal Docks.

The agency said the planned cable car, to be funded by PFI, would cross the Thames 50m above the surface of the water, and could be operational in time for the Olympic Games in 2012.

If carried out, the scheme would be the first urban cable car in the UK.

TfL said the cable car could provide a crossing every 30 seconds carrying up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction, equivalent to the capacity of 50 buses per hour.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “A cable car spanning the majestic Thames would not only provide a unique and pioneering addition to London’s skyline, but also offer a serene and joyful journey across the river. It would also provide a much needed enhancement of cross river options to the east of the city.”

Peter Hendy, London’s Transport Commissioner, said the move was part the body assessing options to increase the number of cross-river transport links.

He said: “A new vehicle crossing at Silvertown will take years to deliver. A privately funded cable car system offers a relatively quick and cost effective way of improving connections across the river for pedestrians and cyclists while road links are progressed in parallel.”