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Post by melikepie on Jun 25, 2012 12:46:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2012 10:13:53 GMT
Diana goes on the London Cable Car
A moment of life is Mr Ds excitement of everything mechanical (except the lawnmower it seems!), so the new Cable Car being just along the road from our house, it was inspected even when they were making it, and guess who diverted there on the way home the first day it opened to use it, so this weekend we were both going on it, and if you have not been, this is what it is like.
From our house we went to Royal Victoria on the DLR, which was very busy for a weekend. It’s the changing station for the Cable Car shown on the map, but when you get there you get no idea where it is. You have to walk round a couple of streets and buildings, and then see the first real surprise, the huge line of people. Actually there are two lines, one for tickets and then one to get in, and they were rather mixed up. We also didnt really see anywhere that you can use the oyster card although there was one notice written by hand that implied it. The big queue was right out of the station and I think we took 15 minutes to get in, it seemed much faster to go to the ticket office because you don’t then go to the big queue but go straight to the front. There are lots of things like the signs and especially the oyster ticket gates going in that come straight from the spare parts department on the underground and makes it look like an underground station. Behind us in the queue were two people with their bicycles and after the oyster gates they went up in a lift while we went up stairs. Here is all the machines that make it go (guess who had camera out) and the noise lets you know if it is going or stopping, which it does every few minutes.
There were the cable cars all coming round and they don’t stop but just get very slow, some clever machinery, people jump off then you have to jump on like getting on the London Eye, but there is only a little step and quite a big drop underneath, so several men to look after you getting in. There were 8 of us in the cable car, it was full, but after we got in they stopped the whole thing just for the two people with bicycles to get in the one behind us, and they got their own car which seems unfair. We did notice that when it stops the cable cars out high up over the river swing about a lot, more than when it is going along normally, fortunately this didn’t happen for us. When you start the doors close then it goes down hill for a few seconds and gets faster, then you start going up and up, quite high. It really looks high when you come to the big poles that hold it up. They have got socks up on the poles like at the airport to show the wind, and it was a windy day on Saturday as you know and some of this was coming in through the doors which don’t close completely and this is when they are brand new. I did think that if it was really windy you could hit the cable car coming the other way because both the cars and also the cable swings, but it must be like a train coming the other way on the railway, always some distance between.You get bang-bang when you go over the poles especially the last one, after which it is very downhill maybe 45 degrees to the station, although you really don’t feel it. I am trying to see our house from the cable car which is silly as you cant see the cable car from the house (is pointed out to me) it must be good when a plane comes to the City airport which you can see is quite a way down. There really is not much to see around here, but we were surprised how many little yachts there are kept in the river Thames here, a big marina for people to keep them – do they ever use them though.
It is strange how much the cables look to hang down (sag?) between the poles, you notice it from the ground but even more when you are in the cable car. It all seems finished quite quick at the end and the other station is the same except it is really a long way from anything and not connected to the underground station at all, there are no signs for it. We didn’t come back on the cable car but went into O2 to have lunch – big mistake, all bad chain places – and then went into London. I checked my oyster at the station and while the underground journeys show the exact stations what we had done on the cable car just says ‘oyster card purchase’ which seems strange.
There was a notice that said to hire a special cable car for your group is something like £85 which seemed silly, just take your two bicycles and you get one to yourself anyway.
When we went on holiday to Barcelona in Spain that was a much more exciting one in the city, very high and that one is really bang-bang-wobbly when you go over the poles which are hugely high and look all rusted. The one in Barcelona you all stand up, like London Eye as well, so I was surprised that in the London one you sit down. I do always wonder how they get people out of these cable cars when it breaks down.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2012 10:26:03 GMT
I've been on it twice now and I have to say, its fantastic! I did remark that it was probably TfL's scariest service, gave me a bit of an adrenaline rush being that high with just a cable for support. It's a hell of a load more fun than the London Eye.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2012 17:37:40 GMT
Any word on whether staff go free?
I'm Scottish
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Post by snoggle on Jul 9, 2012 17:54:04 GMT
Any word on whether staff go free? I'm Scottish No one travels for free. Staff pay the discounted rate. It wouldn't surprise me if they charged the engineers to ride on it if they had to go out and fix a fault. ;D ;D
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Post by norbitonflyer on Jul 9, 2012 19:15:41 GMT
It wouldn't surprise me if they charged the engineers to ride on it if they had to go out and fix a fault. ;D ;D I'm trying to imagine what sort of fault could be fixed by riding out to it on the cable car itself. There are no intermediate stations. If the fault is at one of the terminals, you can get there almost as quickly by tube. If it's anywhere else, it will be inaccessible from the cars anyway - even if the fault hasn't stopped the system.
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Post by Jerome H on Jul 9, 2012 20:06:51 GMT
All I can think of is changing a lightbulb, which doesn't require an engineer at all...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2012 4:32:09 GMT
I rode on the cable car on Saturday and I loved it! Obviously it is hardly a useful transport link - but a great entertainment venue.
My video of one of the rides:
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2012 7:05:03 GMT
Obviously it is hardly a useful transport link - but a great entertainment venue. £60m worth of entertainment? I see it closing in a few years when the novelty value has worn off and Emirates getting a refund on their ten year sponsorship. Don't blame me, I didn't vote for him.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2012 10:27:04 GMT
All I can think of is changing a lightbulb, which doesn't require an engineer at all... The light bulb is safety-critical equipment. Without the light bulb, someone might trip and stub their toe. A fully documented Elfen Safety assessment is required, estimating the forecast mean (or generous) time between failures, the number of toes that might be stubbed, and the amount of training required to ensure that light bulbs are replaced with due regard for the safety of passengers customers and without endangering any train that may be passing on the Piccadilly Line.
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Post by snoggle on Jul 10, 2012 10:46:06 GMT
It wouldn't surprise me if they charged the engineers to ride on it if they had to go out and fix a fault. ;D ;D I'm trying to imagine what sort of fault could be fixed by riding out to it on the cable car itself. There are no intermediate stations. If the fault is at one of the terminals, you can get there almost as quickly by tube. If it's anywhere else, it will be inaccessible from the cars anyway - even if the fault hasn't stopped the system. My comment was more a jokey remark on the fact that there are no "free" concessions on the Dangleway than on the likelihood or not of how maintenance would be carried out.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2012 19:43:00 GMT
Diana goes on the London Cable Car A moment of life is Mr Ds excitement of everything mechanical (except the lawnmower it seems!), so the new Cable Car being just along the road from our house, it was inspected even when they were making it, and guess who diverted there on the way home the first day it opened to use it, so this weekend we were both going on it, and if you have not been, this is what it is like. From our house we went to Royal Victoria on the DLR, which was very busy for a weekend. It’s the changing station for the Cable Car shown on the map, but when you get there you get no idea where it is. You have to walk round a couple of streets and buildings, and then see the first real surprise, the huge line of people. Actually there are two lines, one for tickets and then one to get in, and they were rather mixed up. We also didnt really see anywhere that you can use the oyster card although there was one notice written by hand that implied it. The big queue was right out of the station and I think we took 15 minutes to get in, it seemed much faster to go to the ticket office because you don’t then go to the big queue but go straight to the front. There are lots of things like the signs and especially the oyster ticket gates going in that come straight from the spare parts department on the underground and makes it look like an underground station. Behind us in the queue were two people with their bicycles and after the oyster gates they went up in a lift while we went up stairs. Here is all the machines that make it go (guess who had camera out) and the noise lets you know if it is going or stopping, which it does every few minutes. There were the cable cars all coming round and they don’t stop but just get very slow, some clever machinery, people jump off then you have to jump on like getting on the London Eye, but there is only a little step and quite a big drop underneath, so several men to look after you getting in. There were 8 of us in the cable car, it was full, but after we got in they stopped the whole thing just for the two people with bicycles to get in the one behind us, and they got their own car which seems unfair. We did notice that when it stops the cable cars out high up over the river swing about a lot, more than when it is going along normally, fortunately this didn’t happen for us. When you start the doors close then it goes down hill for a few seconds and gets faster, then you start going up and up, quite high. It really looks high when you come to the big poles that hold it up. They have got socks up on the poles like at the airport to show the wind, and it was a windy day on Saturday as you know and some of this was coming in through the doors which don’t close completely and this is when they are brand new. I did think that if it was really windy you could hit the cable car coming the other way because both the cars and also the cable swings, but it must be like a train coming the other way on the railway, always some distance between.You get bang-bang when you go over the poles especially the last one, after which it is very downhill maybe 45 degrees to the station, although you really don’t feel it. I am trying to see our house from the cable car which is silly as you cant see the cable car from the house (is pointed out to me) it must be good when a plane comes to the City airport which you can see is quite a way down. There really is not much to see around here, but we were surprised how many little yachts there are kept in the river Thames here, a big marina for people to keep them – do they ever use them though. It is strange how much the cables look to hang down (sag?) between the poles, you notice it from the ground but even more when you are in the cable car. It all seems finished quite quick at the end and the other station is the same except it is really a long way from anything and not connected to the underground station at all, there are no signs for it. We didn’t come back on the cable car but went into O2 to have lunch – big mistake, all bad chain places – and then went into London. I checked my oyster at the station and while the underground journeys show the exact stations what we had done on the cable car just says ‘oyster card purchase’ which seems strange. There was a notice that said to hire a special cable car for your group is something like £85 which seemed silly, just take your two bicycles and you get one to yourself anyway. When we went on holiday to Barcelona in Spain that was a much more exciting one in the city, very high and that one is really bang-bang-wobbly when you go over the poles which are hugely high and look all rusted. The one in Barcelona you all stand up, like London Eye as well, so I was surprised that in the London one you sit down. I do always wonder how they get people out of these cable cars when it breaks down. I am shocked you see a line of people! I live 2 mins from the cable car and apart from the first day I have not seen more than 20 Max people at anyone time in the ticket lines. I have been there any all sorts of times. Tonight I was there at 5.30pm and there was not one single person at the ticket office or machines, staff were standing around talking. The cars were running empty end from the Greenwich end as well. I can see it closing within the next 2 - 3 years max The line is just in the wrong area. Dan
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2012 21:14:48 GMT
Most people in East London don't know it is already open - hence the low numbers. I'm sure the numbers will improve. And I've seen quite a free cyclists using it, so there is a legitimate use already.
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Post by superteacher on Jul 10, 2012 21:35:05 GMT
I rode on it on the first Saturday after it opened. Am not really a fan of sitting in something that dangles from a cable 300ft above ground (or water), but it was pretty good. I wonder if they will reduce the price after a while?
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Post by Jerome H on Jul 10, 2012 22:34:40 GMT
All I can think of is changing a lightbulb, which doesn't require an engineer at all... The light bulb is safety-critical equipment. Without the light bulb, someone might trip and stub their toe. A fully documented Elfen Safety assessment is required, estimating the forecast mean (or generous) time between failures, the number of toes that might be stubbed, and the amount of training required to ensure that light bulbs are replaced with due regard for the safety of passengers customers and without endangering any train that may be passing on the Piccadilly Line. The Piccadilly Line? Maybe I've underestimated the length of the Air Line. I've only ever seen it in pictures ;D
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2012 5:40:10 GMT
I rode on it on the first Saturday after it opened. Am not really a fan of sitting in something that dangles from a cable 300ft above ground (or water), but it was pretty good. I wonder if they will reduce the price after a while? Simple mathematics Build cost, £45m Operating cost for the first three years, 16.5m or £5.5m per year Sponsorship for ten years, £36m or £3.6m per year. Chances of fares going down, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Most people in East London don't know it is already open - hence the low numbers. I'm sure the numbers will improve. And I've seen quite a free cyclists using it, so there is a legitimate use already. Most people in East London have little reason to travel to Royal Victoria or North Greenwich and if they did it's quicker, cheaper and in wet weather drier to use the DLR or the Jubilee.
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Post by thc on Jul 11, 2012 7:54:45 GMT
£60m worth of entertainment? I see it closing in a few years when the novelty value has worn off and Emirates getting a refund on their ten year sponsorship. Don't blame me, I didn't vote for him. And to think the TfL contribution to the Dangleway would have, with the originally-promised DfT funding, paid for GOBLIN electrification *and* left some spare change... Boris's transport "policy" is nothing more than a series of gimmicks. I despair. THC
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2012 8:19:24 GMT
And to think the TfL contribution to the Dangleway would have, with the originally-promised DfT funding, paid for GOBLIN electrification *and* left some spare change... Boris's transport "policy" is nothing more than a series of gimmicks. I despair. THC It would have also paid for lifts at Amersham, Greenford, Ladbroke Grove, Newbury Park, Osterley and West Kensington which were cancelled in October 2009 due to “lack of funds” after LUL had already spent £20m on the installation work.
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Post by melikepie on Jul 11, 2012 17:21:28 GMT
Ahhhh, I remember going to the open day of the Thames cable car a long time ago. People now are complaining of queues but I had the cabin all to myself on the first go round. Returning time, I missed a camera crew
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2012 17:27:40 GMT
Only now are people begining to see what the "Mayors" transport policy is all about. This totally un nesassary cable car is just part of the bigger picture to "big up" Boris. When the sponsorship expires and all the "fuss" over the Olympics is done and dusted this will turn out to be a bigger White Elephnat as the teflon tent it stands next to. This governement likes to use the phrase "joined up tranpsort" when in reality most of the DOT & the Mayor can't even managed joined up writing. As another poster said-"Dont blame me I didn't vote for him" says it all really. Serves you all right if you did!
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castlebar
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Post by castlebar on Jul 11, 2012 17:55:46 GMT
"Don't blame me, I voted for Ken" is a better bit of graffiti. I expect it to appear near most of Boris's projects soon.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2012 22:09:40 GMT
Surely the sponsorship can be renewed? Or another sponsor found?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2012 3:01:37 GMT
Surely the sponsorship can be renewed? Or another sponsor found? Emirates paid £36m for exclusive naming rights for ten years so sponsorship with them or any other sponsor won't be renewed until 2022. MACE, the company that built it, will be paid £5.5m operating costs for the first three years so the cable car needs to make that just to break even.
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Post by rsdworker on Jul 12, 2012 17:44:47 GMT
And to think the TfL contribution to the Dangleway would have, with the originally-promised DfT funding, paid for GOBLIN electrification *and* left some spare change... Boris's transport "policy" is nothing more than a series of gimmicks. I despair. THC It would have also paid for lifts at Amersham, Greenford, Ladbroke Grove, Newbury Park, Osterley and West Kensington which were cancelled in October 2009 due to “lack of funds” after LUL had already spent £20m on the installation work. you forget - Baker st had funding cancelled for lifts be installed
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2012 9:04:56 GMT
Well spotted rsd, yes, Baker Street was meant to have lifts in time for for the Olympics if I recall. Boris just doesn't like the "Crips" as the ex-Mrs shrugged likes to refer to herself and her fellow wheelchair users.
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Post by trt on Jul 25, 2012 13:15:04 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2012 17:00:11 GMT
So it really was "suspended" then!! Not fun for the punters on them though, but ;D ;D ;D
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Post by crusty54 on Jul 25, 2012 19:05:19 GMT
Seriously - it is doing well with tourists. Long queues at the weekend.
Well worth the Oyster fare on a sunny day.
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rincew1nd
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Post by rincew1nd on Jul 25, 2012 20:06:15 GMT
The signage is a bit confusing "Information and Boarding Cards", at first we thought we had to go there to get a Boarding Card purchased via Oyster. Whilst pondering the queue length we noticed the gates with Oyster readers and thought we'd give it a try, ping, two minutes later we were, erm, cable-bourne.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2012 21:16:49 GMT
I was confused about this on my first journey, and the staff didn't know either!
I said "Do I just touch in with my Oyster or do I get a paper ticket" to which the member of staff said " I don't know"
In the end I just walked by, touched on and it was fine.
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