Emirates Air Line to close for annual week of maintenance

The Emirates Air Line will close for one week for its next annual planned maintenance work from Monday 7 to Sunday 13 March 2016.

The work will be carried out by operator Mace Macro with assistance from Doppelmayr who built the Emirates Air Line and have been involved in the operations and maintenance since then. As well as being a statutory requirement, it is part of the annual maintenance programme required by all cable car systems around the world.

This is the fourth year that the maintenance week has taken place, each time building on the experience of the previous years. The work involves checks on electric motors and gearboxes as well as the complex hydraulic systems that maintain the correct tension to the cable at all times. The cable is also subjected to an in-depth electromagnetic examination that monitors wear and ensures that it remains within strict and very safe limits.

This year, maintenance will also be carried out on the sheave assemblies that support the cable. These assemblies weigh up to four tonnes, are eight metres in length and will need to be removed from the tower head for in-depth servicing in the onsite workshop.

TfL's Head of the Emirates Air Line, Danny Price, said: 'Passenger numbers have steadily risen on the Emirates Air Line since opening nearly four years ago and we've had consistently high levels of customer satisfaction. Our planned maintenance work will ensure this continues and that we are able to run a safe and reliable service for customers. We apologise for any disruption this causes, however, by carrying out all this vital work now we will not require any further planned closures this year.'

While the closure is in place, the nearest alternative public transport is North Greenwich Tube station for the Jubilee line on the south side of the river and Royal Victoria DLR station on the north side. Both are a short walk away from the Emirates Air Line. Bus services are available from North Greenwich bus station and Royal Victoria. River services also operate from North Greenwich Pier next to the Emirates Greenwich Peninsula terminal.

Since opening, customer feedback has been consistently high with the Emirates Air Line receiving an average score of 93 out of 100, for both overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend the service to others. The Emirates Air Line continues to cover its operating costs and support regeneration in the area.

It will reopen as usual on Monday 14 March 2016.

For information about local public transport and to plan your journey, please visit http://tfl.gov.uk/journeyplanner.