Emirates Airline to launch in time for Olympics

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Global airline Emirates will sponsor London’s new cable car river crossing, to be known as the Emirates Air Line, in a ten-year deal worth £36m.The Emirates Air Line will connect north and south London, travelling between two new stations, to be named Emirates Greenwich Peninsula and Emirates Royal Docks.

Scheduled for completion in summer 2012 the Emirates Air Line will offer commuters and visitors majestic aerial views as they travel across the Thames and provide a much-needed additional river crossing.

With capacity to carry up to 2,500 people per hour in each direction in the peak, equivalent to 30 buses per hour, the system will be the first of a package of measures to improve river crossings in east London, says Transport for London.

The Emirates Air Line is expected to carry two million passengers per year. The sponsorship deal secured by the mayor and TfL will see Emirates provide significant private sector investment to the new transport scheme totalling £36m.

The mayor sees the link as a key element in his vision to transform east London into a bustling metropolitan quarter teeming with new businesses, entertainment and leisure facilities supported by world-class transportation.

Johnson called the deal “tremendous news for London” and the development “an exciting and innovative mode of transport easing travel for thousands and offering spectacular bird's eye vistas of our majestic Thames. The UK's first urban cable car will also act as a vibrant catalyst for the further regeneration of east London helping to attract jobs and investment for the benefit of Londoners.”

Creating a direct link between the O2, Europe's biggest entertainment venue, and ExCeL, the UK's largest exhibition centre, the Emirates Air Line will also provide an additional interchange between the Docklands Light Railway and Jubilee line.

Both areas surrounding the Emirates Air Line have been earmarked for a number of regeneration projects with the Royal Victoria Docks selected as one of the new Local Enterprise Zones. The Emirates Air Line will play a key role in supporting these regeneration projects by providing a faster and more direct link, taking just five minutes to cross the river.

It will also grant local communities access to a range of entertainment, job and leisure opportunities that are set to become available as part of the regeneration.