Coronavirus: Thames Clippers river service to be withdrawn on March 28
You won't see this after Saturday... a Thames Clipper commuter vessel skimming past Canary Wharf. Picture: Mike Brooke - Credit: Mike Brooke
The massive Thames Clipper riverboat service that normally carries around four million commuters a year between Canary Wharf and the City is being suspended from Saturday because of the pandemic crisis.
You won't see this after Saturday... a Thames Clipper commuter vessel skimming past Canary Wharf. Picture: Mike Brooke - Credit: Mike Brooke
The national lock-down means the service is now running near-empty vessels on the commuter route.
So the company has had to shut down its operation from March 28.
“We will be suspending all Thames Clippers services temporarily until further notice,” the company’s chief executive and founder Sean Collins said.
You won't see this after Saturday... a Thames Clipper commuter vessel skimming past Canary Wharf. Picture: Mike Brooke - Credit: Mike Brooke
“This follows a significant drop in passenger demand, following the government’s directive to travel only when absolutely necessary.
You may also want to watch:
“This decision has not been taken lightly. But it is no longer viable as a privately-owned business for us to continue to run our services.”
The service from Canary Wharf and other piers have been drastically reduced over the past week to keep in line with the latest travel guidance. But the company promises to resume “as soon as it is safe to do so”.
You won't see this after Saturday... a Thames Clipper commuter vessel skimming past Canary Wharf. Picture: Mike Brooke - Credit: Mike Brooke
Most Read
- 1 Jailed: Teenagers who left victim blind in one eye after train stabbing
- 2 Patient group set up over allegations of 'poor care' at Royal London
- 3 New street market coming to Docklands is Will's passion
- 4 Canary Wharf floats idea for new green restaurant on water
- 5 Brick Lane's famous bagel shop launches delivery service
- 6 Updated appeal for information about man last seen in Poplar in January
- 7 MPs pledge to fight on for 'forgotten victims' of IRA Canary Wharf bombing
- 8 Fire crews fight blaze at pub in Hackney Wick
- 9 Jailed: drug dealer who rammed police with stolen car to escape
- 10 Mother and son taken to hospital during "severe" fire in Bow
Season ticket-holders are being advised to check online at: https://www.thamesclippers.com/contact-us.
Thames Clippers, which was marketed as a quick commuter route “to avoid traffic and congestion in locations like Canary Wharf and London Bridge”, has been hit ironically by the lock-down which has also emptied the streets of congestion across London.
It invested £6 million to build two new state-of-the-art vessels in 2015 to add to its fleet of 12 high speed catamarans.
The new clippers, Galaxy and Neptune, are among the most technically-advanced fast ferries in the world, with a new hull design that reduces resistance on the river surface. They were developed with ground-breaking engineering to operate in the strong tidal conditions of the Thames while using minimal power, but are now soon to be tied up.
