Emirates Air-Line – It Was So Good I Did It Twice
The Emirates Air-Line that is!
This time it wasn’t so crowded and I had a gondola all to myself.
As you can see I was sitting on the City side of the gondola. Sitting on the other side should give good views of the Thames Barrier.
It really is good value at £3.20. Although, it was a bit shaky in the wind today and getting good pictures was more difficult.
Who knows, I might go back about sunset on a day it decides to show it’s face.
A Review of the Emirates Air-Line
I think it’s only fair that I put down all my thoughts on the Emirates Air-Line, so that others can criticise what I have said.
Construction and Design
People have criticised the cost of the cable-car, but then they are not buying a cheap cable-car, but a quality one designed for a long life.
As far as I can tell, everything looks and feels right. As an example, the seats in the gondolas are very comfortable and of a standard you’d expect in a quality commuter train. The doors close tightly and there was no noise at all. There was little sway and only a slight downwards movement as the gondola descended into North Greenwich.
It took a lot to get C into something like this, but I think she’d have approved.
Ticketing and Boarding
As I showed here, there was a bit of a queue, when I arrived due to people having to buy their boarding passes.
Because I was using my Oyster card, I was allowed to bypass the ticket desks and go straight to boarding. Whether they will allow this at all times, I do not know, but it certainly meant I got the cheaper Oyster ticket (£3.20 instead of £4.30) and speedy boarding as well.
Freedom Passes
You don’t get the Emirates Air-Line free with a Freedom Pass, but you do get a discount on the ticket if you queue up at the ticket office. Judging by the number of people I saw in their last third of life at the system, it will be popular, as it gives such wonderful views if the city. But let’s face it, the cost is only a pound more than a cappuccino in Starbucks.
On Board
It really was very smooth and probably more so than the system in Singapore, that I travelled on with C. That system incidentally costs £13.0 for a round trip, whereas a return ticket on the Emirates Air-line is £6.40.
I thought you might get intrusive adverts, but you only got the odd subtle ones, like “Thank you for using the Emirates air-line”. I can live with that.
Disabled Access
I saw three wheel-chair passengers in the short time, I was there and one, who I think was from North America with a really hi-tech wheelchair, said it was very good. They also have lifts at both ends to get to the loading point, which means that anybody on crutches or sticks, should have no trouble getting on. There was plenty of staff about, but remember it is early days. On the other hand, the contractor, MACE, is operating the system at present and I suspect they’d like to sell more based on their experience with the Emirates Air-Line.
In Conclusion
With my experience of project management, I’ve seen few projects with as high an overall standard as this one.
Small Problems
There is a major small problem with the overall system and that is that kids will love it. Or mine certainly would have done! So parents might get a bit fed up with being pestered for a ride.
I also think that a few more cafes and restaurants at the Royal Docks end are needed. But that is not really a problem, but an opportunity.
London Bridge Is Falling Down
Or at least the roof is leaking!
London Bridge Is Falling Down
There were buckets everywhere.
A Lancaster Over Docklands
Whilst waiting for the trip over the Emirates Air-Line, I saw the Lancaster flying up the River to the opening of the Bomber Command Memorial.
A Lancaster Over Docklands
It made an impressive sight as it passed the cable-car.
The Emirates Air-Line Was Busy
The Emirates Air-Line opened today at midday. It was busy at both ends. These pictures shown the northern end at Royal Victoria Dock.
I don’t know whether they are always going to do this, but the staff went down the queues and if you had a valid Oyster card, with enough on it, they let you straight through to the gates. Those that needed to buy a ticket, had to wait.
Note that I actually travelled to the cable-car by going to Royal Victoria station on the DLR from Bank. I changed at Poplar station, but don’t worry as there are always staff to point lost passengers on their way. In some ways the DLR has benefited by a decision to have unmanned stations, except at interchanges. Each train has no driver, but a Train Captain and rarely is there not someone at hand for advice or help. The DLR’s passenger safety record is I believe very good.
Highbury Fields and the Jubilee Clock Tower
When I looked at the aerial views for nearby to where I live, I found some wonderful shots of a clock tower. There’s one here. So I went to Highbury Fields and walked through to the clock tower.
It was actually erected to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
Hospital Reorganisation
There have been a couple of stories on the news about hospital reorganisation in the last week or so. There was a story last week about the reorganisation of A & E units in North West London. Today, there’s a story about a trust in South East london, that might merge with one in North West Kent.
As when the closure of Barts was mooted some years ago, the locals are against it. For instance someone has said this morning, that those in South East London prefer to travel to the teaching hospitals in Central London.
I lived for a long time in East Anglia and now, the number of big hospitals, is probably down to just two; Cambridge and Norwich, with some local General Hospitals in between. Some like Bury St. Edmunds will disappear fairly soon.
And then of course, there was the retired doctor, who got elected to Parliament over the closure of Kidderminster Hospital, a few years ago.
Modern medicine means we need less hospital beds and more specialist consultants and because paramedics are so much more advanced in what they can do, we need less A & E units.
But try selling this to the locals.
Eurozone Agrees Financial Transaction Tax
Well not quite, if you read the report on RTE, the Irish national broadcaster.
The Irish Finance Minister, Michael Noonan, said the following.
We have stamp duty on share transactions at 1% – we don’t want to go beyond that at present. The British aren’t prepared to go beyond that, Luxembourg isn’t prepared to go beyond that.
“The risk of the activities in financial services moving from Ireland to other centres, particularly London, Luxembourg, the Netherlands is quite high.
One idea behind the financial transaction tax, which is also supported by France, is that it could create a fund to cushion taxpayers from having to bailout banks.
Reading what he said in full, seems to indicate that Ireland, the UK, Luxembourg and perhaps The Netherlands won’t have anything to do with it.
I don’t think any sensible person, would join a club, that would fine you every time you invested anything, especially if you paid all your taxes.
I see a personal problem with it, in that London is going to attract many more rich people, who will want to clog the city with their cars.
Exhibition Road
Exhibition Road, where the Science and Natural History Museums are is now a shared space between all users.
It seems to work, although I suspect some will object. Here‘s the view of the Daily Mail.
A French Blue Plaque?
I saw this blue plaque on the wall of the old Dickins and Jones building in Argyll Street today.
Blue Plaque for Germaine de Staël
The lady refered to, is better known as Germaine de Staël and there is more information about the plaque here.
The Anonymous Widower 