Blackwall Tunnel toll to pay for new crossing 

Road tolls could be introduced at the Blackwall Tunnel to help pay for a new crossing beneath the Thames at nearby Silvertown. The proposed tunnel linking the Royal Docks with the Greenwich Peninsula could open within nine years according to Transport for London.

It has also suggested a vehicle ferry between Beckton and Thamesmead. TfL says that tolls would be necessary at Blackwall because the new Silvertown Tunnel would need to be tolled. Serious delays at the existing crossing could result if one charged a fee and the other did not.

Road safety leadership lacking, says Select Committee 

Department for Transport has “wasted an opportunity” to demonstrate leadership on road safety, according to an influential group of MPs.

Last Friday the Transport Select Committee published Government’s response to its recent report into road safety. In it the Department for Transport said that casualty reductions are “achievable if everyone plays their part”.

But the Transport Committee’s chair Louise Ellman said: “Generalised talk about everyone playing their part to bring road casualties down should not be allowed to hide central Government’s responsibilities.”

Flaws revealed by West Coast franchise inquiry

Bidders hoping to secure the West Coast Mainline franchise were treated inconsistently and there were flaws in the way risk was calculated, the Transport Secretary has said.

Patrick McLoughlin told the House of Commons on Monday that Centrica chief Sam Laidlaw’s inquiry raised a number of issues that will be looked at “with interest and care”. A second review led by Eurostar chairman Richard Brown will look to see if any lessons can be learned for future rail franchising programmes.