Driving into London is set to get more expensive from September, as TfL has announced price hikes for the Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnels, bumping the cost to cross the Thames by five per cent.
From Monday 21 September, the price to drive through the tunnels will rise from £4 to £4.20 at peak times – northbound between 06:00-10:00 and southbound between 16:00-19:00, from Monday to Friday. Using them at any other time will cost car drivers £1.55 – up from £1.50.
Transport for London’s director of strategy Christina Calderato said: “The tunnel user charges are designed to manage traffic demand – which then enables wider objectives like improving the road network’s performance and resilience, encouraging use of public transport and active travel, and supporting economic growth.”
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Calderato justified the price increase, claiming it will “ensure the user charge remains at the right level to manage traffic demand at the tunnels and achieve the project’s other objectives effectively”.
The Silvertown Tunnel opened last year as a means to reduce congestion in the existing Blackwall Tunnel (which had been toll-free until that point). TfL says the project has been a success so far, reducing journey times by up to 58 per cent and local concentrations of nitrogen dioxide by 17 per cent.
This is not the only price increase implemented by TfL in recent months; at the beginning of 2026, the notorious Congestion Charge rose from £15 to £18 – the equivalent of 20 per cent. This coincided with the end of the ‘Cleaner Vehicle Discount’ exemption enjoyed by EVs, with electric cars now only entitled to a 25 per cent discount provided they are registered with Auto Pay.
All of this is perhaps unsurprising given research published in June by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) suggests that TfL is currently juggling £14 billion of debt – roughly nine per cent of local authority debt in the UK.
TfL says the majority of this can be attributed to large-scale investment, such as new Underground trains. However, TPA’s grassroots development manager Benjamin Elks pointed out: “Taxpayers and farepayers are being left exposed to a mountain of borrowing while basic transport performance remains a constant source of frustration.”
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