Leaders in the North East are expected to approve plans to increase the Tyne Tunnel’s toll costs from May 2025. The proposals, which have been set out in a North East Combined Authority (NECA) report, state that charges for cars and HGVs will increase later this year. The report states that the charge for cars will rise from £2.40 to £2.50, with costs for HGVs and other large vehicles increasing from £4.80 to £5. It also confirms that TT2 customers who have prepaid accounts will continue to receive a 10% discount on Tyne Tunnel fees. Those with prepaid accounts for cars will be charged £2.25 and HGV accounts will pay £4.50. The NECA report has outlined the reasons for the price increases and highlighted that it the toll increases are in line with inflation. It said: “The North East CA owns the Tyne Tunnels, comprising the two vehicle tunnels and the pedestrian and cyclist tunnels. “The Tyne Tunnels receive no central government funding nor any local subsidy, with all operational costs and debt financing costs being met from the tolls charged to users of the vehicle tunnels. “The toll charges are necessary to meet operational costs as well as the financing costs of the North East CA and the tunnels operator, TT2 Limited, which were incurred in the construction of the second vehicle tunnel which opened in 2011. “The tolls charged to users of the vehicle tunnels may be increased in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation, rounded to the nearest 10p. “The shadow toll paid to TT2 will increase on 1 January 2025 in line with RPI, so to set a break-even budget for the Tyne Tunnels, an increase of 10p in the tolls charged to Class 2 vehicles (cars) and 20p in the tolls charged to Class 3 vehicles (HGVs) is recommended for approval by Cabinet. This increase would come into effect no earlier than 1 May 2025.” If approved, it will be the third year in a row that the toll price for the Tyne Tunnels has increased.
