The Silvertown Tunnel — London's latest Thames crossing — will open on Monday 7 April 2025.
Construction on the road tunnel, which links Silvertown in east London to the Greenwich Peninsula, commenced in spring 2021, and TfL now says that works and testing of the tunnel are now "sufficiently complete" to set out the planned opening date.
The tunnel, says TfL, will cut drivers' journeys by up to 20 minutes at peak times, although this will come at a cost; in November it was confirmed that tolls will be up to £4 per crossing.
Those catching a bus through the Silvertown Tunnel will have a thriftier time of it, particularly for the first 12 months. TfL has announced that new bus routes serving the tunnel (all also due to launch on 7 April, and including the Superloop 4 (SL4) between Canary Wharf and Grove Park) will be free for users until at least spring 2026. Overnight, the hourly number of buses able to cross the river in the area will rise from from six to 21.
What about the cyclists, so many of who have criticised the project, for not making the Silvertown Tunnel accessible to them? There will at least be a shuttle bus service, operating every 12 minutes, seven days a week (6.30am-9.30pm). The service has two stops, one on each side of the river — the 'north' stop located on Seagull Lane close to Royal Victoria DLR station, and the 'south' stop on Millennium Way near the junction with Old School Close. TfL has now published a route map of the shuttle service (above).
We're also told that the shuttle service will have "a unique look and feel to help distinguish it from the regular bus network" — when TfL releases more details on this we'll let you know.
Cycle shuttle buses are nothing new in London; the Dartford Tunnel Cycle Service opened in 1963, although it only lasted a couple of years,
Find out more about the Silvertown Tunnel on TfL's website.
