UK road tolls
Tyne Tunnels (TT2)
Tyne Tunnels (TT2) in Tyne and Wear, North East England (A19 between Jarrow and Howdon / North Shields) lists a car tariff of £2.60 per passage (each direction) with these conditions: Standard toll, pay in advance or by midnight the day after; any time of day; exempt from VAT. TT2 Limited (concessionaire; tolls set by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority) publishes the position recorded here as of 26 September 2026; payment and exemption rules depend on the crossing.
TT2, Tyne Pass FAQs (as of 26 September 2026); The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026); The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026); The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026)How much is the Tyne Tunnel toll for a car, a van or a lorry?
| Vehicle class | Price | Payment method or tariff | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 motorcycle | £0.00 GBP per passage | Standard tariff | Free, no registration needed | The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026) |
| Class 2 car, van or bus under 3.5 tonnes | £2.60 GBP per passage (each direction) | Standard tariff | Standard toll, pay in advance or by midnight the day after; any time of day; exempt from VAT | The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026) |
| Class 2 car, van or bus under 3.5 tonnes | £2.34 GBP per passage | Standard tariff | Pre-Paid Account holders (10% discount) | The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026) |
| Class 3 LGV/HGV, van or bus over 3.5 tonnes | £5.20 GBP per passage (each direction) | Standard tariff | Standard toll, pay in advance or by midnight the day after | The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026) |
| Class 3 LGV/HGV, van or bus over 3.5 tonnes | £4.68 GBP per passage | Standard tariff | Pre-Paid Account holders (10% discount) | The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026) |
Is my van Class 2 or Class 3 at the Tyne Tunnel?
At the Tyne Tunnels the dividing line is weight, and it sits at 3.5 tonnes. Class 2 is a car, van or bus under 3.5 tonnes. Class 3 is a large goods vehicle, van or bus over 3.5 tonnes, and it pays twice the Class 2 toll.
The toll is charged per passage, so going north and coming back south is two tolls. A trailer or caravan adds nothing: TT2 charges only the vehicle doing the towing, at its own class. Every toll and charge at the tunnels is exempt from VAT, so there is none to reclaim on a business receipt.
Example
A Sunderland family towing a caravan up the A19 to Northumberland
- Vehicle
- Family SUV under 3.5 tonnes towing a caravan
- Trip
- Northbound on Friday, southbound nine days later
- Payment
- Guest payment online, no account
- The SUV is under 3.5 tonnes, so it is Class 2 at £2.60 a passage.
- The caravan adds nothing, because TT2 only charges the towing vehicle.
- Each direction is a separate passage: 2 x £2.60 = £5.20.
- Both passages can be bought together before setting off, as guest payments cover up to 10 passages and stay valid for 12 months.
£5.20 for the holiday there and back, or £4.68 through a Pre-Paid Account.
How do I pay the Tyne Tunnel toll, and what is the deadline?
- Pay in advance or by midnight the day after you use the tunnel. Cash cannot be paid at the point of passage.
- Pre-Paid Account or guest payment at tt2.co.uk / account.tt2.co.uk and the TT2 app; automated phone line 0191 574 0030; cash at PayPoint retailers; Pre-Paid Account with auto top-up gives 10% off.
Pre-Paid Account, guest payment or PayPoint: which suits me?
There are no barriers and nowhere to pay in the tunnel. Since Tyne Pass open road tolling began in November 2021, cameras read the number plate as you drive through, and the toll has to be paid by midnight the day after your journey. Cash can no longer be paid at the point of crossing.
A Pre-Paid Account is the cheapest route, at 10% off every passage, and it takes as many vehicles as you like and sends reminders when the balance runs low. The other routes charge the full price, as the table shows.
- Create a Pre-Paid Account at account.tt2.co.uk and add each vehicle's number plate. A vehicle can only be on one account at a time.
- Save a card, then switch on Auto Top-up: the lowest balance you can set as the trigger is £5, and the smallest top-up is £10.
- Drive through as normal. Each passage is taken from the balance at the discounted price.
- If a top-up fails because your bank account is short of funds, TT2 switches Auto Top-up off and you must turn it back on yourself, so keep an eye on the balance.
| Route | Price per passage | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Paid Account | £2.34 | Regular drivers and households with several vehicles |
| Guest payment online or in the TT2 app | £2.60 | Occasional trips, up to 10 passages valid 12 months |
| Automated phone line, 0191 574 0030 | £2.60 | Paying by card without going online |
| PayPoint shop | £2.60 | Paying in cash |
From TT2's toll prices, how to pay and Pre-Paid Account pages, read 26 September 2026. The deadline for every route is midnight the day after you travel.
What happens if I forget to pay the Tyne Tunnel toll?
Unpaid Toll Charge Notice (UTCN): £60 plus the toll, reduced to £30 plus the toll if paid within 14 days of the UTCN being produced; rises to £100 plus the toll if unpaid after 28 days.
How does a Tyne Tunnel UTCN go up if I leave it?
If the toll is still unpaid at midnight the day after you travel, the Unpaid Toll Charge Notice process starts automatically. TT2 asks the DVLA for the registered keeper's address, then produces the notice when it receives those details. It aims to post the notice 14 days after the missed deadline, but a DVLA delay can make it later.
TT2's own timeline shows how the charge climbs if nothing is paid.
| Stage | Roughly when | What you owe |
|---|---|---|
| UTCN produced | Day 1 | £30 plus the toll |
| Reminder letter | Day 15 | £60 plus the toll |
| Final notice | Day 30 | £100 plus the toll |
| Passed to a collection agency | Around day 44 | £100 plus up to £79 from the agency, plus the toll |
From TT2's UTCN pages, read 26 September 2026. The day counts start when the UTCN is produced, not on the day you travel. TT2 adds a day for each bank holiday and posts letters first class.
Example
A Saturday shopper who forgets the toll after a trip to Silverlink
- Vehicle
- Class 2 car
- Crossing
- One passage on a Saturday afternoon
- Deadline missed
- Midnight on Sunday
- After the Sunday midnight deadline passes, TT2 requests the keeper's details from the DVLA before producing the UTCN.
- Paid within 14 days of the UTCN being produced: £30 + £2.60 = £32.60.
- Paid after 14 days: £60 + £2.60 = £62.60. After 28 days from production: £100 + £2.60 = £102.60.
- Left for the collection agency, up to £79 more can be added: as much as £181.60 in all.
A £2.60 toll becomes £32.60 at best once a UTCN is issued, calculated from TT2's published charges.
How do I appeal a Tyne Tunnel UTCN?
Only the registered keeper, or someone with the keeper's addressed, dated and signed written authority, can appeal, and you have to wait until the UTCN arrives. Appeal an unpaid UTCN online through the UTCN payment portal or by post to TT2 Limited, Administrative Building, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, NE28 0PD. TT2 does not accept these appeals by phone, social media or its contact forms.
An appeal brings 14 days' respite from charge increases, and the charge does not increase while TT2 assesses it. TT2 says it replies to every appeal within 14 days. Each case can be appealed up to three times, but reassessment needs new evidence. If you pay while an appeal is open, the case closes without a response.
- Pick the appeal category that fits, set out what happened in short bullet points within the 1,000-word limit, and attach your evidence, listing every UTCN reference beginning with TT.
- Already paid and want to dispute it? Call TT2's contact centre on 0191 574 0031 to discuss your case. The limit is 28 days from payment, or 60 days for a lease, hire or rental company or its authorised customer. After that, TT2 directs you to its complaints process.
- If the case has already gone to the collection agency, appeal through the agency's own process instead.
What mistakes lead to a Tyne Tunnel UTCN?
Each of these can turn a £2.60 passage into a charge of £32.60 or more.
- Looking for somewhere to pay at the tunnel: the toll booths have gone, and the toll is paid online, in the app, by phone or at PayPoint.
- Showing a Blue Badge instead of registering: exemption only works for a vehicle registered in advance on an exemption account.
- Driving a different car on your exemption: only the one vehicle registered against it is free, and it can only be changed once a calendar month.
- Letting Auto Top-up lapse: TT2 switches it off after a failed top-up, yet the account still needs enough funds to cover every passage within the payment window.
How do I get the Tyne Tunnel toll cheaper?
- Pre-Paid Account: 10% off every crossing (£2.34 Class 2, £4.68 Class 3)
Is a Tyne Tunnel Pre-Paid Account worth it?
A Pre-Paid Account gives 10% off every passage, however often you cross. That is 26p off each car passage and 52p off each passage in a vehicle over 3.5 tonnes. The two cases below show how those savings add up.
Example
A South Shields commuter driving to work in North Tyneside every weekday
- Vehicle
- Class 2 car
- Passages
- 10 a week, north in the morning and south in the evening
- Guest payment: 10 x £2.60 = £26.00 a week.
- Pre-Paid Account: 10 x £2.34 = £23.40 a week.
- A 7.5 tonne delivery van making four passages a day would pay 4 x £5.20 = £20.80 by guest payment, or 4 x £4.68 = £18.72 on an account.
The commuter saves £2.60 a week and the van £2.08 a day, both calculated from TT2's tariff in force since 1 May 2026.
Who can use the Tyne Tunnels without paying?
- Motorcycles: free. TT2's Tyne Pass FAQ says motorbikes remain exempt; its price list files them under a motorbike exempt account, so check with TT2 before relying on it without one.
- Blue Badge holders and vehicles with nil road tax through Motability or disability exemption: free only via a Toll Exemption Account registered in advance (one vehicle per exemption, annual renewal, exempt person must be in the vehicle); showing a Blue Badge at the tunnel is not enough
- Charities, businesses and service providers such as fire, ambulance, police and bus operators can apply for an exemption account
Does a Blue Badge get me through the Tyne Tunnel free?
Only if you register first. Blue Badge holders, and drivers of vehicles that are tax exempt because of a disability, can hold a Toll Exemption Account, and the cameras then recognise the registered number plate. TT2 is plain that you cannot claim exemption at the tunnel just because a Blue Badge holder is in the car: the inspection lanes where that used to happen have gone.
The exemption covers one vehicle at a time, which can be changed once per calendar month. Blue Badge holders can change it through the online account. The exemption must be renewed annually. If the Blue Badge holder is not travelling, the toll is payable as normal. Motorbikes are also exempt. TT2 lists charities, businesses and service providers among those who can apply for an exemption account.
- Apply for a Toll Exemption Account on the TT2 website with your Blue Badge or disability tax exemption details.
- Once TT2 confirms it, check the right number plate is on the account. Blue Badge holders can change it online no more than once a calendar month.
- Renew once a year through TT2's renewal form, as its rules require.
When did the Tyne Tunnels open, and why is there still a toll?
First tunnel opened 1967; TT2 Ltd awarded a 30-year concession in 2007; second tunnel opened 2011 (officially opened by the Queen 18 July 2012). Tyne Pass open road tolling launched November 2021 and the toll plazas were demolished by early 2022. Tolls rose to £2.50/£5.00 on 1 May 2025 and to £2.60/£5.20 on 1 May 2026, applied by the North East Combined Authority in line with inflation to cover running costs and repay the cost of building the second tunnel.
How have the Tyne Tunnels grown since 1967?
The Queen opened the first vehicle tunnel in 1967, giving North and South Tyneside a long-awaited road link. It carried about 4,000 vehicles a day at first and around 23,000 by the 1980s, close to its capacity. A second tunnel opened in 2011 and was officially opened by the Queen on 18 July 2012, and by 2012 the pair carried around 40,000 vehicles a day.
The toll booths went in November 2021, when Tyne Pass open road tolling arrived. TT2 says journeys became 39 seconds faster northbound and 26 seconds faster southbound on average, and that not stopping saves more than 50,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. The tunnels now handle more than 65,000 journeys a day and over 19 million a year.
Where does the Tyne Tunnel toll money go?
Into a debt with a deadline. TT2 was awarded a 30-year concession in 2007, and the second tunnel was built with borrowed money that the tolls repay: TT2 says around £210 million is still owed to the lenders, to be repaid by 2037. In 2022 the figure it gave was around £240 million. The tunnels receive no council tax or government funding, so tolls also pay for round-the-clock operation, maintenance and a staff of about 130.
TT2 does not set the price itself: the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority does, under the concession agreement, and tolls can rise each year in line with the Retail Prices Index. The North East Combined Authority confirmed the May 2026 rise in February 2026.
What rules apply to lorries, hazardous loads and closures?
The Tyne Tunnels are designated category C tunnels for the carriage of dangerous goods, and TT2 adds further restrictions of its own on hazardous loads. Drivers of hazardous loads must report to TT2 staff before entering, while ordinary light goods vehicles and caravans no longer need to be inspected.
The tunnels are open every day of the year, but single lane closures happen for maintenance, with a 10mph limit while they are in place. Short full closures may also be needed. Scheduled northbound weekend maintenance ran from June 2024 to August 2025, with one lane each way through the southbound tunnel, and has concluded. On normal weekdays TT2 warns of some congestion between 7am and 9am and between 4.30pm and 6pm.
How else can I cross the Tyne near the tunnels?
On foot or by bike, two other crossings sit close by. The Grade II listed Tyne Pedestrian and Cyclist Tunnels, in use since 1951, are generally open from 6am to 8pm every day with a night service for shift workers, and carry National Cycle Network routes 72 and 14. Further downstream, the Nexus Shields Ferry crosses between North and South Shields in about seven minutes, every half hour, seven days a week, and takes bikes on National Cycle Route 1.
For drivers, the road crossings that avoid the toll are upstream in Newcastle and Gateshead. Weigh the extra miles against a £2.60 toll, or £2.34 on an account, before you commit to the detour.
Common questions
- Do you pay the Tyne Tunnel toll both ways?
- Yes. TT2 charges a toll each time you pass through, so travelling north and then south again counts as two passages. A car pays £2.60 each way, £5.20 for the round trip, or £4.68 through a Pre-Paid Account. Pay for each one by midnight the day after that journey. TT2 publishes no off-peak or overnight rate: in its own words, a toll is due each time you travel through.
- Can I pay the Tyne Tunnel toll the next day?
- Yes, up to midnight the day after you travel. Pay online as a guest or through a Pre-Paid Account, in the TT2 app, on the automated phone line on 0191 574 0030, or in cash at a PayPoint shop. You cannot pay at the tunnel itself. If the toll is still unpaid after the deadline, TT2 begins the Unpaid Toll Charge Notice process. The charge is £30 plus the toll if paid within 14 days of the notice being produced.
- Do motorbikes pay the Tyne Tunnel toll?
- No. TT2's Tyne Pass FAQs confirm that customers travelling by motorbike continue to be exempt from paying the toll, and the toll prices page lists motorbikes as free. Riders pay nothing in either direction at any time of day. Everything else pays by weight: £2.60 a passage for a car, van or bus under 3.5 tonnes and £5.20 for one over 3.5 tonnes, unless it holds a disability exemption.
- Can I pay the Tyne Tunnel toll in advance?
- Yes. A Pre-Paid Account can pay for future passages as well as ones already made within the payment window, and guest payment lets you buy up to 10 passages at once that stay valid for 12 months. Buying ahead is useful before a holiday or a hospital appointment, because it removes the risk of forgetting the midnight deadline the day after travel.
- How do I pay the Tyne Tunnel toll in a foreign-registered car?
- The same way as anyone else. TT2 says drivers with a number plate registered outside the UK can use its regular payment methods: enter the registration and complete the details asked for, online, in the app, by phone or at a PayPoint shop. The price is the same, £2.60 a passage for a car or a van under 3.5 tonnes, and the deadline is still midnight the day after you travel.
- Who gets the UTCN if I forget to pay in a hire car?
- TT2 must send the notice to the registered keeper, which for a hire, lease or rental vehicle is usually the company rather than you. The company can give TT2 written authority so that its customers can deal with the UTCN directly, and TT2 encourages companies to give blanket authority to save time. A lease, hire or rental company has 60 days from paying a UTCN to appeal it, against 28 days for other keepers.
Sources
- TT2, Tyne Pass FAQs (as of 26 September 2026)
- The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026)
- The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026)
- The named bridge operator, Tyne Tunnels (TT2) tariff and travel information (as of 7 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, How do you want to pay? (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Pre-Paid Accounts FAQs (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Auto Top-up: how to set up and FAQs (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Pay an Unpaid Toll Charge Notice (UTCN) (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, How does an Unpaid Toll Charge Notice work? (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, UTCNs FAQs (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Appeals process (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Appeals information and advice (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Lease, hire and rental vehicles information (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Non-UK registered vehicles (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Toll Exemption Account (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Apply for a toll exemption account (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Exemptions: more info and FAQs (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, How does Tyne Pass benefit me? (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Why is a toll due? (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, A new look for the Tyne Tunnels (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, 55 year anniversary of the first Tyne Tunnel (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, 10th anniversary of the second Tyne Tunnel (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Northbound Tyne Tunnel maintenance works 2024/25 (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Overnight lane closures, May to June 2024 (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Hazardous goods, abnormal loads and breakdown recovery (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Do you check light goods vehicles and caravans? (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, General FAQs (as of 26 September 2026)
- TT2 Limited, Do the tunnels ever close? (as of 26 September 2026)
- Visit North Tyneside (North Tyneside Council), Tyne Pedestrian and Cyclist Tunnels (as of 26 September 2026)
- Nexus (Travel North East), Shields Ferry (as of 26 September 2026)