CONSTRUCTION work is well underway on the £50.5m Thames cable car project which will connect Greenwich to Newham.

Pillars have now been built for the two stations, one on the Greenwich Peninsula and the other on the water at Victoria Dock.

Scheduled for completion during summer next year, the cars will run 50 metres above the river, carrying up to 2,500 people an hour.

There will be 35 gondolas travelling the five minute route at a speed of between four metres and six metres per second.

The scheme will link the O2 Arena in Greenwich with the Excel exhibition centre across the river.

Transport for London has agreed to provide the cash for the project.

It will recover its costs from a range of sources including the appointed commercial partner, fare revenue and advertising.