Londoners beware: charges are increasing for the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels

If you regularly drive through London’s Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels, be aware that the charges for both crossings are increasing from 21 September. This is part of Transport for London’s (TfL) efforts to help manage traffic flow across the two river crossings.

TfL says the Silvertown Tunnel – which links Silvertown in east London to the Greenwich Peninsula – has helped to reduce journey times, improve reliability through both tunnels, ease congestion and make peak-time journeys faster since it opened in April 2025.

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If you’ve signed up to Auto Pay, off-peak charges for cars, small vans and motorcycles will rise from £1.50 to £1.55. This off-peak rate applies between 6am and 10pm on weekdays outside peak periods, as well as all day on weekends.

Peak-time charges will also increase. Drivers of cars and small vans travelling northbound between 6am and 10am, or southbound between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays, will pay £4.20, up from £4.00. Motorcycle riders will see the peak charge rise from £2.50 to £2.60.

TfL confirmed that separate peak and off-peak charges for larger vans and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will also increase.

If you’re already registered for Auto Pay, you don’t need to take any action, so long as the vehicle you use is linked to your account. You can also continue to manage your registered vehicle through your London Road User Charging account.

Christina Calderato, director of strategy at TfL, told Carwow: “The tunnel user charges are designed to manage traffic demand – which then enables wider objectives like improving the road network’s performance and resilience… Without the tunnel user charge, there would be more traffic and congestion, with negative impacts on air quality and journey times.

“A small increase to the tunnel user charges to account for inflation would ensure the user charge remains at the right level to manage traffic demand at the tunnels and achieve the project’s other objectives effectively.”

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