The huge new £2.2bn tunnel under river in major UK city set to open in months

The Silvertown Tunnel in London has an official opening date. The £2.2billion project in the south east of the capital will provide another route under the River Thames alongside the Blackwall Tunnel.

Transport for London (TfL) has said that drivers will have to pay a toll in order to pass through both.

This will be £4 at peak times each way, and £1.50 at off-peak times. Now, officials have said that the £2.2billion Silvertown Tunnel will open on April 7.

TfL says that motorists will benefit from “faster and more reliable” journeys and enhanced public transport links, with journey time savings expected to be up to 20 minutes at peak times.

Moreover, once the tunnel is open, the number of buses able to cross the river in the area will increase from six to 21 buses an hour. Bosses say all will be zero emission at the tailpipe and free to use for the first year.

However, Reform UK has said that the toll will be a “kick in the teeth” for drivers.

The party’s representative on the London Assembly, Alex Wilson AM, told Express.co.uk: “We knew this was coming – the decision to introduce the toll charges was rubber stamped by Sadiq and TfL last year.

“This ignored the overwhelming response of both TfL’s own consultation and the largest ever petition submitted to the London Assembly, which I presented last year.

“I welcome the new tunnel opening, but I know many hardworking Londoners, families, businesses and charities will see the charge of up to £8 a day to use both Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnels as a real kick in the teeth.”

Critics have also claimed that the tunnel will exacerbate pollution in the area. In February, the Green Party’s London mayoral candidate told our sister site MyLondon that Sadiq Khan’s Silvertown Tunnel plans are “contradictory”, and will see “tens of thousands” of local schoolchildren breathing in toxic air.

TfL says that a range of concessions and discounts will be available, including a 50 percent discount for low-income residents in 12 east and southeast London boroughs (Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Hackney, Havering, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Fores) and the City of London.

There will also be a £1 discount on the standard off-peak charge for at least one year for small businesses, sole traders and charities registered in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Greenwich.

All buses, coaches and vehicles with nine seats or more registered with the DVLA will automatically be exempt from Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnel charges.

All taxis, blue badge holders, and wheelchair-accessible private hire vehicles registered with TfL will not be chargeable.

‘Zero-Emission Capable’ Private Hire Vehicles licensed by TfL – which currently make up at least 40 per cent of the 93,000 fleet – will also be exempt.

Vehicles registered under the Accredited Breakdown / Recovery vehicle discount will also not have to pay a charge. Tunnel charges will also be reimbursed to NHS staff and patients eligible through the NHS reimbursement scheme.

Bus journeys made on three cross-river routes that serve Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich, as well as cross-river journeys on the DLR from Cutty Sark to Island Gardens, and from Woolwich Arsenal to King George V will also be free for at least one year.

Low-income Londoners in the relevant Boroughs and City of London who are eligible for the 50 percent discount are people in receipt of Income Support, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Carer’s Allowance or Housing Benefit.

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.

“These measures will also help manage traffic demand as well as the environmental impacts, and ensure the new tunnel delivers on its objectives of reducing traffic congestion and providing resilience at the Blackwall Tunnel, while ensuring we support local residents on low income, small businesses, sole traders and local charities.”