Motorists started to use the Silvertown Tunnel for the first time on Monday – with car drivers paying up to £4 to use the first new road crossing under the Thames for 58 years.
London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said he was “very proud” to have built the £2.2bn Silvertown tunnel – and even took the unusual step of praising his predecessor as mayor, Boris Johnson, who first came up the idea.
The opening of the mile-long twin-bore tunnel, which links North Greenwich with Canning Town and the Royal Docks, also meant that tolls were imposed for the first time at the nearby Blackwall tunnel.
The first vehicles used the Silvertown tunnel at about 12.15am on Monday, when the southbound barriers were removed. The first northbound traffic entered the tunnel at 1.45am.
Tolling began at 6am – with the peak rate kicking in for northbound traffic between 6am and 10am on weekdays.
Car drivers pay £4 per peak crossing and £1.50 off-peak – but need to register with TfL AutoPay to receive the off-peak rate.
Tolls are in place at both the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels between 6am and 10pm seven days a week. The other peak period is southbound on weekdays between 4pm and 7pm.
Light at the end of the tunnel? @SadiqKhan takes a trip through the Silvertown tunnel on the SL4 Superloop bus pic.twitter.com/SDSSZSmoBK
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) April 7, 2025
Sir Sadiq, who rode through the tunnel on the new SL4 Superloop bus, said that Mr Johnson “deserves credit” but added: “We have improved it hugely from Boris Johnson’s plans.
“Some of his ideas are bonkers - look at the garden bridge – but some are quite good. We have improved it to make sure there are more improvements for cyclists, more improvements for pedestrians, and ensuring there are 21 zero emission buses an hour going through the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels.”
He refused to say if TfL would offer drivers a “grace period” of several weeks where they would receive a warning letter rather than a £180 fine if they failed to pay the tunnel toll.
“It’s really important that drivers don’t rely on a grace period,” he said. “My advice to anybody is to join the AutoPay scheme. Don’t risk getting a £180 fine.”
Transport for London and council engineers were anxiously watching to see whether the impact of the charges led to thousands of drivers diverting via the Rotherhithe tunnel or Tower Bridge, both of which remain free to use.
However the true picture of whether the introduction of tolls at Blackwall and Silvertown changes traffic patterns may not be known for a fortnight as vehicle numbers were expected to be lower than normal due to the school Easter holidays.
The tunnel was built using a £2.2bn PFI finance scheme that will take 25 years to repay. Its core aim is to ease congestion at Blackwall tunnel.
The Silvertown tunnel is open.
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) April 7, 2025
Video shows traffic turning left to head south through the tunnel from Canning Town to North Greenwich. pic.twitter.com/NVjCZ5EZLO
Police were on standby at the tunnel entrance in case of protests. There was a small gathering outside City Hall, with campaigners calling for the new tunnel to be “repurposed” for “active travel” including cyclists and public transport.
One lane of two in each of the two Silvertown tunnels – one northbound, the other southbound – is reserved as a bus lane. However HGVs and taxis can also use the bus lane.
Two bus services will use the Silvertown Tunnel – including the newly-launched SL4 Superloop and an extended 129 service – while the 108 bus will continue to run through the Blackwall tunnel.
Monday morning also saw the launch of the Silvertown “bike bus” shuttle service that will be free to use for at least a year. Cyclists are not allowed to ride through the Silvertown or Blackwall tunnels.
The Stop the Silvertown Tunnel Coalition raised concerns that east and south-east London could see an influx of HGVs at night as the Silvertown tunnel will be free to use between 10pm and 6am.
It is larger than the Blackwall Tunnel, meaning freight traffic may choose to use it in preference to the Dartford Crossing on the M25.
Campaigners said that the ability of diesel juggernauts to use the Silvertown Tunnel would undo many of the gains from Sir Sadiq’s Ulez ultra-low emission zone and represented a “ticking time bomb” for the health of people living near the tunnel, both adults and children.
Victoria Rance, founder of the Stop the Silvertown Tunnel Coalition, said: “We cannot wait for children to become sicker than they already are in some of the most polluted areas of London before we recognise the urgent need to repurpose this tunnel to make it environmentally friendly.”
Construction began in 2021. The tunnel has been delivered by the Riverlinx consortium.
The last Thames road tunnel to open was the second of the two Blackwall tunnels, which opened in 1967 and is now the southbound bore.
The Queen Elizabeth II bridge at Dartford, which takes southbound traffic on the M25 across the Thames, opened in 1991 but sits outside the Greater London boundary.
TfL expects drivers to pay about £100m in tolls and penalty charges. Any revenue will be ploughed back into public transport schemes – but it won’t be until 2026/27 that it makes a “profit”, and then only one of £3m a year.
Caroline Russell, a Green party member of the London Assembly, said the tunnel would worsen traffic and pollution.
“The opening of Silvertown road tunnel is a reminder of the £2 billion wasted on a project that nobody in London has shown any real enthusiasm for,” she said.
“Londoners deserve so much more than this. We need river crossings that prioritise clean air, safe walking and cycling with affordable public transport rather than this traffic-inducing road tunnel.
“The mayor has claimed to be the ‘greenest’ mayor ever, yet here we are, with a tunnel that is the opposite of anything ‘green’.
“To make matters worse, the mayor’s clunky cycle shuttle service is a half-baked impractical solution strapped onto a project that people have campaigned against for decades.
“Expecting people to get off their bikes, wait up to 12 minutes and then lug their bikes onto a bus is ridiculous, especially when the entire area around the tunnel is dangerous for cycling and filled with high-risk junctions.
“This could easily have been solved with a proper route across the river for people walking and cycling.”
TfL says it will monitor air quality on an ongoing basis. It says that the Ulez emission rules will apply to vehicles using the Silvertown tunnel.
Low income residents of 13 east and south-east boroughs can qualify for a 50 per cent discount.
Small businesses, sole traders and charities in Greenwich, Newham or Tower Hamlets can get £1 off the peak rate.
TfL claims the new tunnel will cut peak journeys by up to 20 minutes.
TfL commissioner Andy Lord said: “The new Silvertown tunnel is vital to supporting growth in east and southeast London and boosting cross-river bus services and I want to thank all the engineers, construction workers, designers and others who have worked so hard over the years to deliver this project successfully on time and on budget.
“Supported by the user charges for the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels, the new tunnel will also help reduce congestion and associated air quality issues around the Blackwall Tunnel, making journeys faster and more reliable, with average journey time savings expected to be up to 20 minutes at peak times.”
Shobi Khan, chief executive of Canary Wharf Group, said: “Canary Wharf has never been better connected.
“We're glad to celebrate the opening of the Silvertown tunnel, meaning faster and more reliable journeys between Canary Wharf and the south-east for our workers, visitors and residents.”
John Dickie, chief executive of business lobby group BusinessLDN, said: “The Silvertown tunnel will open up new routes for Londoners across the city and help to tackle congestion in the area. It marks a great example of the public and private sectors working together in partnership to deliver for the capital.”
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