Drivers face new peak-time fee to use Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels

The controversial Silvertown Tunnel in London is expected to open in early 2025

TfL has planned a package of discounts and green measures for east London commuters around the Blackwall Tunnel (Transport for London)

Drivers using the Blackwall and new Silvertown tunnels in London will be charged £4 during peak times and £1.50 during off-peak times, it has been revealed.

The Blackwall Tunnel, which links the A2 in south London with the A12 in east London, has been free to use since opening in 1897.

While an exact date has not been confirmed for the opening of the Silvertown Tunnel, which was built to try and alleviate congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel, it is expected to be in operation within the first three months of 2025.

Drivers will only be eligible for the £1.50 rate if they sign up to Transport for London’s (TFL) “auto pay” scheme, which automatically deducts the fee from their bank account.

The levy will apply from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week.

Peak hours will be limited to weekdays and will run from 6am to 10am northbound and 4pm to 7pm southbound.

Cars and small vans can expect to pay £4 each way during this period, and £1.50 per vehicle outside this timeframe.

Motorbikes will be charged £2.50 each way during peak hours and £1.50 during off-peak times.

Large vans will pay £6.50 each way during peak hours and £2.50 during off-peak times, while HGV drivers will pay £10 each way during peak hours and £5 during off-peak times.

Stop Silvertown Tunnel activists hold a campaign banner in 2021 (In Pictures via Getty Images)

A number of concessions, discounts and exemptions will also be in place.

All buses, coaches and vehicles with nine seats or more registered with the DVLA are exempt, as are all taxis, blue badge holders and wheelchair-accessible private hire vehicles.

Both NHS staff and patients will be eligible for reimbursements – and a 50 per cent discount will be available for low-income drivers in 12 east and southeast London boroughs and the City of London.

In addition, small businesses in the boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich can apply for a £1 off-peak discount for at least a year.

The penalty charge for non-payment of the new tolls will be £180, a figure that drops to £90 if paid within two weeks.

The controversial Silvertown tunnel, which is just under one mile in length, has cost £2.2 billion to build.

It has faced fierce opposition from local residents and environmental campaigners who fear that it will increase congestion and pollution rather than reducing it, with both Newham and Greenwich councils opposing the project.

TfL said the tunnel would “reduce the environmental impact of traffic congestion on some of London’s most polluted roads”.