TFL confirms charges for Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnel
At a meeting yesterday (December 4), the government agency’s board agreed on the charges, which will affect Kent motorists travelling in and out of the capital.
If paying via TfL AutoPay, it will cost £2.50 for motorcycles and mopeds, £4 for cars and small vans, £6.50 for large vans and £10 for HGVs during peak times – weekdays between 6am and 10am Londonbound and between 4pm and 7pm coastbound.
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Users will be charged £1.50 for motorcycles, mopeds, cars and small vans, £2.50 for large vans and £5 for HGVs during off-peak times if using AutoPay.
However, if paying by any other means, drivers will be charged the peak rates regardless of the time of day.
Failure to pay the fee will result in a penalty charge notice (PCN) worth £180, reduced to £90 if paid within a fortnight.
The number of PCNs for each vehicle will be limited to one per day.
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Certain cross-river bus and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) journeys will also be free of charge for at least a year and discounts will apply to some London residents and vehicles registered with TfL.
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TfL’s director of strategy, Christina Calderato, said: “These measures will manage traffic demand as well as the environmental impacts, and ensure the new tunnel delivers on its objectives of reducing congestion and providing resilience at the Blackwall Tunnel while ensuring we support local residents on low income, small businesses, sole traders and local charities.
“If we did not introduce these, there would likely be high levels of traffic and congestion, which would lead to detrimental air quality impacts, as well as longer journey times.
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“In the New Year, we will carry out a major marketing campaign to encourage drivers to sign up to TfL AutoPay, ensuring Londoners can benefit from the off-peak discounts from launch.”
The charges are required as part of the development consent for the new Silvertown Tunnel which was first proposed in 2012.
It is hoped the new crossing, which will connect Silvertown with the Greenwich Peninsula, will reduce the severe congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel once construction is complete next spring.
Due to the proximity of the two tunnels, charges will be introduced at both to ensure traffic levels do not increase as drivers look to use the uncharged crossing and to cover construction costs.
The Silvertown Tunnel project is being delivered by the Riverlinx consortium and as of 2022, TfL had secured £1.2 billion of private finance to build, operate and maintain the tunnel.
Construction work on the main tunnel is now complete and the firms are working to ensure that all the safety systems are working.
The exact date for when the new charges will come into force has not been confirmed.
