RE: Tunnel Charges
Thursday 30th October 2003
Tunnel Charges
Tolls to increase in Merseyside
The House of Commons has approved a bill that could see tolls being increased for the Mersey Tunnel. Funds gathered from the increases would be used to fund other local transport schemes.
The Mersey Tunnels Bill now goes to the House of Lords for approval. MerseyTravel which operates the tunnels says the money is needed to fund improvements but that it would also be used to fund other transport schemes in the area.
Tolls have been charged for using the tunnels since they opened in 1934.
Links
Discussion
Taken from www.tunnelusers.org.uk/19214.html
Originally the government wanted the crossing to be free of any Tolls, but after several years of negotiations it was agreed that the government would pay half the construction cost, one quarter would come from the rates in Liverpool and Birkenhead and one quarter from Tolls for a period of up to 20 years. (The running costs of the Tunnel were to come from the rates.) This was authorised in a 1925 Act and a Mersey Tunnel Joint Committee was formed comprising of Birkenhead and Liverpool Corporations.
A further Act was needed in 1927 mainly because the siting of the Birkenhead entrance was changed, which led to an increase in costs. The Tolls were now to apply for up to 25 years.
In 1928 there was a further Act to again change the Birkenhead entrance and also to move the Liverpool entrance from Whitechapel to the Old Haymarket. But the overall cost and Toll period was the same.
1933 saw yet another Act. This time the costs had increased by a massive 40%. This seems to have been mainly due to an incident in an American road tunnel, and a decision that there had to be a massive improvement to ventilation. (This of course wouldn't have happened with a bridge!) As the government would not give any more money, the Tolls were now to last for up to 40 years.
While all these Acts were being passed the actual construction started at end of 1925. It was a mammoth undertaking involving thousands of workers. The engineers in charge were John Brodie, Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice, and Basil Mott. The main tunnel (there were branch tunnels at either end) would be 2 miles 230 yards long, and it would be wide enough for 4 lanes of traffic with a total interior diameter of 44 feet.
At the same time as the work alleviating some of the road congestion around the Tunnel entrances, it was decided that a second crossing would be needed. Consultants were appointed and they recommended a 6 lane bridge. Because of the cost, and uncertainty as to which was the best route for a bridge, the authorities decided on a 2 lane tunnel. The new tunnel would run from just north of the old tunnel on the Liverpool side, and on the Wirral side would come out at Seacombe (Wallasey). The Wallasey approach would make use of a disused railway cutting to link up to what would be the M53.
The construction cost (excluding land) was estimated at less than £14 million, and an Act was passed in 1965 authorising the construction. Wallasey joined Birkenhead and Liverpool on the Mersey Tunnels Joint Cttee in September of 1965. The provisions in respect of Tolls were changed so that neither the old Birkenhead Tunnel nor the new Wallasey Tunnel would become free of Tolls till the debts on both tunnels were paid off.
It was later decided to add another 2 lane tube to the Tunnel. It would share the Approach roads etc of the first 2 lane tube. This was provided for in a 1968 Act. The estimated construction cost for this second tube was £7.5 million.
The final cost for both tubes was over £37 million including £3.5 million for land. Apart from any other factor there had been the usual "unexpected" difficulties that seem to occur with Tunnels and other large construction projects. Adjusting for 40 years of inflation can not be accurate, but the Wallasey tunnel appears to have cost about 10% more in real terms than the Birkenhead tunnel. This is probably because savings in construction costs of Tunnels were more than offset by the substantial spending on approaches.
The Wallasey Tunnel was officially opened by the Queen on 24 June 1971. On Sunday 27th there was a charity walk through the tunnel, and it was really opened to traffic from midnight on 27th. About the same time, the Tunnel toll was raised from 10p to 15p.
The Tunnels were now making substantial losses. There were various reasons:- the cost of the new Tunnel, the fact that construction cost was far higher than expected, traffic stopped growing either due to the increase in Tolls and or the state of the economy. Some limited power to add these losses to debt was obtained in a 1972 Act, but these powers were to run out in 1980 at the latest.
Adding the losses to debts further increased future losses. Unsuccessful attempts were made to get financial aid from central government.
Tolls were increased again to 20p in 1975, 25p in 1977, and 30p in 1979. In 1980 Merseyside County Council had an Act which was mainly consolidating various old acts that applied within their area. They took the opportunity to have the powers to add losses to debt, extended to 1984, or such later date up to end of 1989 that the Minister might agree. Tolls were raised again to 40p in 1981, and 50p in 1986. (Merseyside also had the provision for Tolls changed so that when all the debt was paid off, the Tolls would not stop, instead they would be reduced to an amount sufficient to cover maintenance costs.)
There was some falling off in use due to all these increases but total Toll income increased substantially over all these years. Despite this increase in total Toll income the annual rate of losses actually increased, mainly due to high inflation and high interest rates.
Eventually the powers to add losses to debt ran out, and they had to be met from the Rates. This was the situation between October 1988 and March 1992. But there were further Toll increases to 60p in 1989 and then £1 in April 1992. The combination of these further substantial Toll increases plus the 3 and a half year breathing space meant that losses had now stopped altogether.
There was a further Toll rise to £1.20 in 1999. The use of the Tunnels has crept up slightly in recent years, but is still far below that forecast when the Wallasey Tunnel was built.
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The tolls continue to rise and now they want to make a profit and extra infrastucture income.
I'm glad I have a choice of which way to cross the river, and have chosen the non-tunnel way for the last 10 years!
It's not the amount of money they are charging, but the breaking of promise (and contract) again and again.
Originally the government wanted the crossing to be free of any Tolls, but after several years of negotiations it was agreed that the government would pay half the construction cost, one quarter would come from the rates in Liverpool and Birkenhead and one quarter from Tolls for a period of up to 20 years. (The running costs of the Tunnel were to come from the rates.) This was authorised in a 1925 Act and a Mersey Tunnel Joint Committee was formed comprising of Birkenhead and Liverpool Corporations.
A further Act was needed in 1927 mainly because the siting of the Birkenhead entrance was changed, which led to an increase in costs. The Tolls were now to apply for up to 25 years.
In 1928 there was a further Act to again change the Birkenhead entrance and also to move the Liverpool entrance from Whitechapel to the Old Haymarket. But the overall cost and Toll period was the same.
1933 saw yet another Act. This time the costs had increased by a massive 40%. This seems to have been mainly due to an incident in an American road tunnel, and a decision that there had to be a massive improvement to ventilation. (This of course wouldn't have happened with a bridge!) As the government would not give any more money, the Tolls were now to last for up to 40 years.
While all these Acts were being passed the actual construction started at end of 1925. It was a mammoth undertaking involving thousands of workers. The engineers in charge were John Brodie, Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice, and Basil Mott. The main tunnel (there were branch tunnels at either end) would be 2 miles 230 yards long, and it would be wide enough for 4 lanes of traffic with a total interior diameter of 44 feet.
At the same time as the work alleviating some of the road congestion around the Tunnel entrances, it was decided that a second crossing would be needed. Consultants were appointed and they recommended a 6 lane bridge. Because of the cost, and uncertainty as to which was the best route for a bridge, the authorities decided on a 2 lane tunnel. The new tunnel would run from just north of the old tunnel on the Liverpool side, and on the Wirral side would come out at Seacombe (Wallasey). The Wallasey approach would make use of a disused railway cutting to link up to what would be the M53.
The construction cost (excluding land) was estimated at less than £14 million, and an Act was passed in 1965 authorising the construction. Wallasey joined Birkenhead and Liverpool on the Mersey Tunnels Joint Cttee in September of 1965. The provisions in respect of Tolls were changed so that neither the old Birkenhead Tunnel nor the new Wallasey Tunnel would become free of Tolls till the debts on both tunnels were paid off.
It was later decided to add another 2 lane tube to the Tunnel. It would share the Approach roads etc of the first 2 lane tube. This was provided for in a 1968 Act. The estimated construction cost for this second tube was £7.5 million.
The final cost for both tubes was over £37 million including £3.5 million for land. Apart from any other factor there had been the usual "unexpected" difficulties that seem to occur with Tunnels and other large construction projects. Adjusting for 40 years of inflation can not be accurate, but the Wallasey tunnel appears to have cost about 10% more in real terms than the Birkenhead tunnel. This is probably because savings in construction costs of Tunnels were more than offset by the substantial spending on approaches.
The Wallasey Tunnel was officially opened by the Queen on 24 June 1971. On Sunday 27th there was a charity walk through the tunnel, and it was really opened to traffic from midnight on 27th. About the same time, the Tunnel toll was raised from 10p to 15p.
The Tunnels were now making substantial losses. There were various reasons:- the cost of the new Tunnel, the fact that construction cost was far higher than expected, traffic stopped growing either due to the increase in Tolls and or the state of the economy. Some limited power to add these losses to debt was obtained in a 1972 Act, but these powers were to run out in 1980 at the latest.
Adding the losses to debts further increased future losses. Unsuccessful attempts were made to get financial aid from central government.
Tolls were increased again to 20p in 1975, 25p in 1977, and 30p in 1979. In 1980 Merseyside County Council had an Act which was mainly consolidating various old acts that applied within their area. They took the opportunity to have the powers to add losses to debt, extended to 1984, or such later date up to end of 1989 that the Minister might agree. Tolls were raised again to 40p in 1981, and 50p in 1986. (Merseyside also had the provision for Tolls changed so that when all the debt was paid off, the Tolls would not stop, instead they would be reduced to an amount sufficient to cover maintenance costs.)
There was some falling off in use due to all these increases but total Toll income increased substantially over all these years. Despite this increase in total Toll income the annual rate of losses actually increased, mainly due to high inflation and high interest rates.
Eventually the powers to add losses to debt ran out, and they had to be met from the Rates. This was the situation between October 1988 and March 1992. But there were further Toll increases to 60p in 1989 and then £1 in April 1992. The combination of these further substantial Toll increases plus the 3 and a half year breathing space meant that losses had now stopped altogether.
There was a further Toll rise to £1.20 in 1999. The use of the Tunnels has crept up slightly in recent years, but is still far below that forecast when the Wallasey Tunnel was built.
-------------------------------------------------
The tolls continue to rise and now they want to make a profit and extra infrastucture income.
I'm glad I have a choice of which way to cross the river, and have chosen the non-tunnel way for the last 10 years!
It's not the amount of money they are charging, but the breaking of promise (and contract) again and again.
sparkyjohn said:
The links to the Williamson Tunnels sites are a surreal touch. Not much use for motorised transport, or anything else for that matter !
Someone obviously did a search for 'tunnels and liverpool' - the Williamson Tunnels are great though, especially if you go into the history behind this philanthropist.
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