Thames Tube Line Proposed - No Digging required!
Could Chelsea Harbour be part of fast new service?
A recent report "At a rate of knots" published this week proposes a fast boat service as the answer to the crush of the underground. Backed by local MP Justine Greening and Zac Goldsmith the report outlines plans for a "waterbourne tubeline" running from Putney to Woolwich with stops at twenty piers.
Justine Greening MP told our sister site PutneySW15.com:
"
I hope that this work can provide a real impetus for a plan to start using the River Thames with better river boat services from Putney. It's been launched by the Mayor so having his support could make all the difference to seeing improved river boat services.
"The Thames is London’s historic highway yet it is invisible on the transport canvas of London. Transport for London has even taken it off the standard Tube map, although we are delighted that it will return in the next edition of the map. The river promises an exciting new transport network for Londoners, at a fraction of the normal cost for infrastructure projects, but needs sustained political leadership to make it happen."
The opening paragragh in the summary from the authors is an argument that has been made many times, with many companies trying and failing with their commuter boat services.
The authors believe one of the benefits of the speed boat "line" is the very low cost of infrastructure: they say: "a new pier costs £1-5 million compared to £150 million for merely upgrading Bond Street Tube station. It is clear that significant improvements can be made on the river at very low cost. Flexibility is another major benefit of river services – routes can develop with demand rather than being tied to existing infrastructure."
In the plan, Richard Tracey, Mayor Boris Johnson's Ambassador for the River, is charged with
promoting more passenger transport on the Thames in the approach to the 2012 Olympics. He represents Merton & Wandsworth in the Greater London Assembly and reports:
| "River transport is growing apace between Westminster and the Thames Barrier as regular
new services, and the development of piers atract increasing numbers of passengers.
Sadly it is a different story upstream of Westminster Bridge. Apart from the sponsored “Tate to Tate” service between the two Tate art galleries, there is a skeleton service of three boats from Putney Pier during the morning rush hour and three returning in the evening. These single-hull boats are much slower than the catamarans operating in the lower reaches: the journey from Putney to Blackfriars takes about 45 minutes with stops at Wandsworth Riverside Quarter, a new pier built by a developer, Chelsea Harbour, Cadogan Pier and Embankment. Also, the timetable of links to the Thames Clippers services from Blackfriars is sill far from perfect. Yet there is a growing population of potential river users in the various developments along the banks of the river between Putney and Vauxhall, including new apartments at Batersea Reach, Plantation Wharf, and Imperial Wharf, and the von Essen Hotel Verta by Batersea Heliport. The developers in that part of the river appear willing to share the construction costs of new piers and this should be encouraged in line with the mayor’s stated aim to increase river transport. Such a project would also need goodwill and advice from the Port of London Authority, which oversees dredging requirements and controls the legal status of piers." |
January 13, 2010
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