Turn of the tide for passenger travel on the River Thames

Sceptics scoffed in 2012 when the Mayor of London announced plans to double passenger usage on the River Thames to 12 million by 2020. But now it is no longer a question of if, but rather when this figure is reached. John W E Helm interviewed Andy Thompson, general manager of TfL’s London River Services, to see how things are progressing

John W E Helm

30 October 2015

Scheduled river services carry almost four million passengers a year

Existing and proposed piers that, apart from Barking Riverside, should be operational by 2020

Andy Thompson, general manager of TfL`s London River Services

Long before there were proper roads or railways, the River Thames was a major traffic artery serving London and the south. Indeed, for many centuries, it was the only artery of any importance. Today London’s burgeoning population and traffic growth is straining its transport infrastructure to the limit, but building more roads is no longer seen as politically acceptable, and constructing new railways is a hugely expensive, time-consuming and immensely disruptive process.

There is a third...