Woolwich Ferry to face disruption in the new year

By Alexandra Warren

The Woolwich ferry will be disrupted over Christmas as Transport for London takes over the running of the service from Briggs Marine – following a series of problems.

TfL announced that the free car and pedestrian ferry from Woolwich to North Woolwich will not run from January 2 to 8, in addition to being out of operation on bank holidays over Christmas.

They will use the time to improve mooring equipment and train staff.

There will only be one boat in operation, running a 20-25 minute service, until the end of the January.

The two new ferries came into service last year, costing TfL £20m, but have had continued problems with both the generators and the magnetic docking systems.

There were over 600 hours of delays in the first half of 2019 leading to industrial action against Briggs Marine.

Sadiq Khan admitted last year that he had “dropped the ball” on the issue, saying: “TfL have to put our hands up and admit these problems should have been sorted out in the factory, not in the River Thames.”