Where Next For The Emirates Air-Line?
I like predicting the future and in many cases, I have the knowledge to do my predictions based on fact rather than fantasy.
So now we have got the Emirates Air-Line up and running, where else could we use a similar system within the UK.
The Emirates Air-Line has been designed using the simple single cable, Monocable Detachable Gondola (MDG) technology, which uses a single cable for both support and propulsion. The simple concept probably explains, why the system went from project start to finish in undera year. It is not untried technology, as a similar system in Caracas, is twice the length and has twice the number of cabins. So if you are of a nervous disposition and find the Emirates Air-Line a bit scary, stay away from Caracas. Although looking at my pictures and some of the Caracas system, the gondolas appear to be very similar. Both might have been built by the Austrian company, Dopplemayr. The Emirates Air-Line certainly was.
But it does show the flexibility of the technology, as Caracas system is much larger than the London one. But the Emirates Air-Line is not small in terms of capacity, as its 34 cars can move 2,500 people in an hour, which is the equivalent of thirty buses. Cynics have complained about the cost of £60 million, but then crossing a river, either needs a tunnel, a ferry or a bridge.
Asa an aside here, London’s millennium footbridge cost around £20 million, but of course couldn’t have been used here, as it is not high enough for large ships to pass underneath.
I know England well and I think there are several places, where cable-cars could be a cost-effective alternative to other means of moving people.
Obviously, because I know Liverpool well, a cable-car could be an alternative way to cross the Mersey. Liverpool has a problem in that it has three ageing ferries, that will need replacing at some time. They also do other jobs, like run pleasure trips up the Mersey. As there is a proper railway under te river, Liverpool’s need for passenger movement is not so pressing. But a cable-car system, running all the way from Lime Street station to Birkenhead could be a spectacular attraction taking visitors over one of the best cityscapes in Europe.
Crossing the Tyne at Newcastle, would probably be one of the easiest from an engineering point of view.
Obviously, schemes will come together, when the economics of the Emirates Air-Line are fully understood in a couple of years.
But I think before the end of this decade we will be seeing other cable-car systems in the UK.
Another Tax on the Poor
I’ve just been interrupted by an advert on ITV4, where I’m watching the cycling for something called the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Reading about it, it would appear it only promotes itself in Scotland, Wales and the North of England.
I don’t like lotteries, as they are only a tax on the poor and stupid.
Certainly, if you don’t watch ITV or buy tabloid newspapers, it would appear you don’t hear about it.
Melianie Reid Gets Angry
I always read Melanie Reid in The Times every Saturday.
She is in a wheelchair after a riding accident and today, she vents her spleen on the crows, rooks and jackdaws, who are decimating the song birds in her garden. The RSPB seem to find all excuses about what is happening to songbirds, never believing that other feathered friends are responsible. Melanie with the evidence of her eyes has disproved this and will probably get the wrath of those that believe all birds are innocent. I shall check the on-line version of the story for comments.
The Canadian Family in Penang
Years ago, C & myself were waiting for the Penang Hill Railway to get on top of Penang Hill. I can’t remember exactly how we got talking, but it could have been a can of Coke in the hot weather and this Canadian family with three children helped clear up the mess. It turned out they were two teachers and had sold up all of their possessions and were going round the world. They were obviously educating their children as they travelled.
They had started in the UK and then crossed Europe by train to take a ferry to North Africa, where they crossed the Sahara in a truck. Gradually, they progressed through Africa to Dar Es Salaam, from where they took a dhow to India. When we met them, they were living in a two dollars a day flophouse in Penang. In a few days, they woukd be off and hoped to get to Darwin.
I asked if they had had any trouble. They said, only really the baboons. But then babons are the hooligans of Africa. Although, their son had broken his humerus, somewhere in Northern Nigeria. The local head man introduced them to the local bonesetter, who felt it all back into place. Later in Lagos, the Canadian High Commission, got them an appointment with the best orthopaedic surgeon in Nigeria. When he looked at the arm, he just gave a knowing look and said that the bonesetter was better than he was at puting broken bones back together. He’d not had any trouble since. I wish that bonesetter had put my gammy arm back together.
I always wonder what happened to that family. I assume all was well, but it would have made the travel book of the decade. I suspect, the authorities would have something to say, if a family tried it now.
The Anonymous Widower 