" wrote:
On 28/01/2011 15:03, Basil Jet wrote:
On 2011\01\28 14:51, Recliner wrote:
From: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12306090

A planned cable car across the River Thames to link 2012 Olympic venues
has been approved by Greenwich Council.

Thanks. IIRC the exact same scheme was also approved in the run up to
the Millennium Dome, so I'll believe it when I see it.

Speaking of which, whatever happened to the T5 PRT project at Heathrow?


It has served its purpose - it was merely a ploy to gain planning
permission for a development in the Central Area. One the planning
permission was obtained, the PRT project was effectively abandoned.

In message ,
writes

On Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:24:41 +0000, Paul Terry
wrote:

One of the things that makes the pilgrimage from Barcelona to Montserrat
so enjoyable is the facility to choose between the stomach-wrenching
cable car ride or the fascinating funicular route.

Arn't the funiculars at the top? The alternative to the cable car
being the rack railway. This was relatively recently reopened having
been closed in the 50's. Certainly every thing still looked nice and
shiny when I was on it 18 months ago.

Sorry, yes I did mean the rack railway. But it actually reopened in 2003
- I guess they keep it in tip-top condition!
--
Paul Terry

On 29/01/2011 22:08, Bruce wrote:
wrote:
On 28/01/2011 15:03, Basil Jet wrote:
On 2011\01\28 14:51, Recliner wrote:
From: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12306090

A planned cable car across the River Thames to link 2012 Olympic venues
has been approved by Greenwich Council.

Thanks. IIRC the exact same scheme was also approved in the run up to
the Millennium Dome, so I'll believe it when I see it.

Speaking of which, whatever happened to the T5 PRT project at Heathrow?


It has served its purpose - it was merely a ploy to gain planning
permission for a development in the Central Area. One the planning
permission was obtained, the PRT project was effectively abandoned.


It's not happening, then? I recently saw one of them running near T5,
though I am well aware that it was not carrying anybody.

" wrote:
On 29/01/2011 22:08, Bruce wrote:
wrote:
On 28/01/2011 15:03, Basil Jet wrote:
On 2011\01\28 14:51, Recliner wrote:
From: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12306090

A planned cable car across the River Thames to link 2012 Olympic venues
has been approved by Greenwich Council.

Thanks. IIRC the exact same scheme was also approved in the run up to
the Millennium Dome, so I'll believe it when I see it.

Speaking of which, whatever happened to the T5 PRT project at Heathrow?


It has served its purpose - it was merely a ploy to gain planning
permission for a development in the Central Area. One the planning
permission was obtained, the PRT project was effectively abandoned.


It's not happening, then? I recently saw one of them running near T5,
though I am well aware that it was not carrying anybody.


Perhaps they are playing with it in the hope they will gain planning
permission for something else?

The basis for gaining planning permission for the new developments in
the Central Area was that the taxi tunnels would be converted to run
these PRT vehicles two abreast. It was about as fanciful a scheme as
you will ever see, and the proposal was not in the least convincing
from a technical point of view.

The proposed PRTs in the taxi tunnel would transport people between
the Central Area and both short and long term car parks located around
the airport perimeter. But it did the trick, because the local
authority wanted a drastic cut in the number of petrol and
diesel-engined vehicles entering the Central Area for reasons of air
quality and the PRTs would achieve that - on paper. BAA said that the
T5 scheme with PRTs connecting the Business Car Park with the terminal
would be a full scale demonstration of what could be achieved.

So, the local authority granted planning permission for the most
extensive redevelopment of the Central Area in Heathrow's history.

Naturally, once planning permission had been obtained, the pressure
was off BAA to get the PRTs to work. Not one fare-paying passenger
has been transported by these toy cars. I am not convinced that it
will ever work, but it has achieved the objective BAA set for it.

In message , Bruce
writes

Not one fare-paying passenger has been transported by these toy cars.

It's not yet open to fare-paying passengers, but it has been
transporting airport staff for some time now.

I am not convinced that it will ever work, but it has achieved the
objective BAA set for it.

It was being capacity tested earlier this month:

http://www.ultraprt.com/news/86/149/...vehicle-trips/
--
Paul Terry

In message , at 07:28:39 on Mon, 31
Jan 2011, Paul Terry remarked:

It was being capacity tested earlier this month:

http://www.ultraprt.com/news/86/149/...vehicle-trips/

Yes, I posted that link up-thread. What's not clear is how one 380-full
an hour would scale to the requirements of the central area (although
they might run more pods on that proposed route). They've also stopped
quoting a date when it'll go live (having missed too many dates already
perhaps).
--
Roland Perry

In message , Roland Perry
writes

Yes, I posted that link up-thread.

Oops, sorry I missed that. I was amused to see on another part of that
site that about 4 in 1000 pod journeys don't go to their expected
destination. I can think of quite a few bus rides I've had where that
happens! And at least you can then tell the pod where it needs to go,
unlike a bus driver.

What's not clear is how one 380-full an hour would scale to the
requirements of the central area (although they might run more pods on
that proposed route).

If the extension to the central area does go ahead, I think they propose
using the service tunnels on either side of main access tunnel
(currently used by cars only). IIRC, moving various pipes in the lower
halves of these would give enough headroom to run up to eight parallel
tracks between the car parks and the central area.

They've also stopped quoting a date when it'll go live (having missed
too many dates already perhaps).

Indeed. I expect the opening will be a very quiet affair, despite all
the testing that has gone on.
--
Paul Terry

In message , at 11:47:48 on Mon,
31 Jan 2011, Ian Jelf remarked:

The cable car will connect Greenwich and the Royal Docks, carrying up
to 2,500 passengers-an-hour.

Is that a realistic figure? It seems very high to me but I don't have
first hand knowledge of such things.

The Alton Towers cable car managed 6,000 an hour:

http://old.towerstimes.co.uk/attract...rt/skyride.htm
--
Roland Perry

In message , Ian Jelf
writes

In message , Recliner
writes

The cable car will connect Greenwich and the Royal Docks, carrying up
to 2,500 passengers-an-hour.

Is that a realistic figure? It seems very high to me but I don't have
first hand knowledge of such
things.

It depends on the size of the gondolas (as they seem to be called). The
Montjuic cable car that crosses the harbour in Barcelona has only two
(large) reciprocating gondolas and is claimed to have a capacity of 8000
passengers per hour.

The Thames proposal ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...arbonemissions
and
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show....php?p=5044185

seems more like the Singapore system, with multiple small gondolas
following a circular route:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sentosa-cableway.jpg

Singapore can manage 1400 per hour, but it is a rather longer journey
than the Thames proposal and it includes a midway station, which London
won't have.

--
Paul Terry

In message ,
writes

On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:48:56 +0000, Paul Terry
wrote:

It depends on the size of the gondolas (as they seem to be called). The
Montjuic cable car that crosses the harbour in Barcelona has only two
(large) reciprocating gondolas and is claimed to have a capacity of 8000
passengers per hour.

Having been on it can you really see that figure being correct?

No, you are quite right. I've confused the Montjuic funicular (8000
passengers per hour) with the nearby Aeri del Port that crosses the
harbour.

But as you say, it is likely that the Teleferic de Montjuic is a high
capacity cable car system, as there is a direct transfer between the
funicular and its lower station. It is also similar to the system
proposed for London. Picture he

http://www.barcelonatourist.org/plac...ic-de-montjuic

It's a good ride, but the enclosed gondolas are nowhere near as exciting
as the open ones they used until quite recently.
--
Paul Terry