Exact date new £4 daily charge starts for thousands of drivers in England
Drivers face a new £4 charge to use a popular route in England. Transport for London has finally announced the opening date of the Silvertown Tunnel, which could see drivers charged daily to use the new roads as we head into 2025.
The Silvertown Tunnel is scheduled to open on April 7, 2025. Stuart Harvey, Chief Capital Officer at Transport for London said: "I'm pleased that we can now confirm that the Silvertown Tunnel will open on 7 April 2025, following years of hard work and close collaboration between ourselves and Riverlinx Limited.
"The Tunnel is on track to open in the coming months and is a testament to brilliant and ground-breaking engineering. The new Tunnel, along with the initial user charges, discounts and exemptions, will support growth in the local area and provide new public transport connections across the river."
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First announced in 2012, the 1.4km new tunnel will connect Newham and the Greenwich Peninsula, offering faster and more reliable journeys with up to 20 minutes saved during peak times. Located within the Ultra Low Emission Zone, the tunnel will support economic growth and increase the number of buses crossing the river.
To manage traffic and ensure financial sustainability, a user charge will be introduced on 07 April 2025, helping to reduce congestion and improve air quality. Riverlinx CEO John Hagan said: “We are pleased to announce the opening date for the project.
“This represents the culmination of effort for the thousands of people that have worked on the project over the past five years.” Paul Lynch, managing director of Stagecoach London, added: "We're excited to be asked to operate the innovative and important Silvertown Tunnel cycle-shuttle service as part of the enhanced cross-river public transport offering, and we're busy making sure our specially converted zero emission buses will be ready in time.
"We also hope to see the new tunnel ease traffic conditions for our other bus services in the area." An off-peak rate of £1.50 will apply for the vehicles registered with TfL Auto Pay during the majority of operational hours. Peak charges will cost £1 more for motorcycles and £2.50 extra for cars and vans.
During these peak hours, large vans will pay an extra £4 to cross the tunnel, while HGVs will pay an extra £5 during peak hours.