M6 Toll
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| M6 Toll motorway | ||
| Length | 27 miles 43 km |
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| Direction | North West - South East | |
| Start | Coleshill | |
| Primary destinations | Cannock Lichfield Stafford |
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| End | Cheslyn Hay | |
| Construction dates | 2002 - 2003 | |
| Motorways joined |  M6 motorway  M42 motorway |
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| Euroroute(s) |
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The M6 Toll (previously called the Birmingham North Relief Road, or BNRR) is the United Kingdom's first toll-paying motorway, other than the Severn Bridges on the M4 and M48 motorways. The M6 Toll is part of the (unsigned in the UK) E-road E5. [1]
Designed to alleviate the increasing congestion on the M6 through Birmingham and the Black Country, in England, it connects M6 Junction 4 at the NEC to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with 27 miles (43 km) of three-lane motorway. This busiest section of the M6 was previously carrying up to 180,000 vehicles per day when it was designed to carry only 72,000. The new M6 Toll road is touted by its operator as saving up to 45 minutes journey time over the old road before the opening of the toll road.
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[edit] Background
In 1992, a private sector company, Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL), won a 53-year concession to build and operate the road as an early form of public-private partnership scheme, with the company recouping its costs by setting and collecting tolls. The concession period began when construction began, the idea being that it would cover three years of construction and 50 years of operation, before the road was returned to the Government. MEL contracted out the construction of the road to a consortium of major contractors Carillion, Alfred McAlpine, Balfour Beatty and AMEC (together known as CAMBBA). Construction work began in Mid-2002. The road was partially opened on December 9, 2003 for traffic entering from local junctions, then fully opened on December 14, 2003.
MEL reported an operating profit of around £16 million in 2005. Total revenue was £45 million, with staff and other operating costs amounting to £11.4 million and depreciation of £17.4 million. Taking into account net interest costs of around £43 million, that leaves an overall loss of £26.5 million in 2005 - their first full financial year[2].
As of June 2005, MEL is 100% owned by Macquarie Infrastructure Group of Australia who operate many tolled roads in Australia and across the world including Highway 407 in Canada. Long term debt was £819 million as of 30 June 2005. Disappointing traffic figures for Summer 2005 led to a price rise in June and for MIG Chief Executive Steve Allen to comment in the Australian newspaper The Age: "What we need is to slow down the M6". [3]
Environmental campaigners have been opposed from its inception to its opening. Whilst the road was being built some advocates of direct action dug tunnels in the path of the road in order to frustrate and delay the work. Most notable of the campaigners was Swampy who went on to be a minor celebrity in the United Kingdom. On the first day of opening of the road less radical opponents voiced their opposition. Friends of the Earth claimed that the road will not relieve much traffic from the West Midlands conurbation as most users using the M6 in that area began or ended their journeys within the conurbation and so the M6 Toll would offer no advantage to them. Their campaign co-ordinator for the West Midlands, Chris Crean, said that although the £900m cost of the road had been borne by private companies, the money should have been spent on public transport [4].
Conversely, business leaders in Staffordshire, now effectively closer to London, welcomed the opening of the road, saying that it would make it easier to do business there [5].
There was a proposal to build a new toll motorway, called the M6 Expressway, from the end of the M6 Toll up to as far as Knutsford, where much of the traffic leaves the M6 for Manchester. However, it was announced on 20 July 2006 that this proposal had been abandoned due to excessive costs and anticipated construction problems. [6]
[edit] Features
The M6 Toll has only a few junctions, some with limited access, to discourage local traffic from using the new bypass. Unlike modern toll roads in continental Europe, the M6 Toll uses toll plazas.
The Motorway's only service station is situated at Norton Canes, between junctions T6 and T7.
On 10 January 2004, just 5 weeks after opening, a short section of the road near Sutton Coldfield was reduced to one lane to allow for repairs to an uneven surface. On 19 January work also began on a separate stretch near Langley Mill, to deal with heavy rainwater failing to drain away.
[edit] Tolls
As of the road's opening, tolls were £1 for motorcycles, £2 for cars, £5 for vans and £10 for lorries, each to rise by £1 after the first ten million vehicles. This figure was achieved in August 2004. A lower price is available during off-peak hours (23:00 - 06:00) as well as at the Langley Mill tolls for northbound exit and southbound entry to the motorway.
On 23 July 2004, the toll for HGVs was reduced from £10 to £6 due to the low numbers of lorries using the new motorway.
Prices rose on 14 June 2005 by 50 pence for cars and motorbikes and £1 for larger vehicles. They are now:
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Guide |
Day |
Night |
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(06:00 - 23:00) |
(23:00 - 06:00) |
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Class 1 (e.g. motorbike) |
£2.50 |
£1.50 |
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Class 2 (e.g. car) |
£3.50 |
£2.50 |
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Class 3 (e.g. car & trailer) |
£7.00 |
£6.00 |
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Class 4 (e.g. van/coach) |
£7.00 |
£6.00 |
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Class 5 (e.g. HGV) |
£7.00 |
£6.00 |
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with a 5% reduction for using a tag |
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The 1992 concession entitles MEL to change the toll rates at six-monthly intervals and there is no cap on the rates changed (see Hansard [7]).
Exit/entry at some of the intermediate junctions away from the main toll booths entails a reduced toll, typically £1 less than the full fee.
In May 2006, it was announced that the planned 50 pence rise in the toll, planned for the summer, was to be delayed [8]. Australian financial analysts attributed this to lower than expected traffic numbers.
[edit] Toll collection
Tolls can be paid by one of four means: automated coin payments, payment at a staffed toll booth, automated credit/debit card payments or in advance via an M6 Toll tag. Not all methods are available at all toll gates; each of the toll gates features an electronic sign showing the payment methods available at the time.
Vehicles are classified electronically at the toll booths according to their number of wheels, number of axles and height at first axle. Thus vehicles with trailers are charged extra and some large models of 4x4 are classified as vans.
Failure to pay the toll for using the motorway is an offence; anyone attempting to do so will be issued with an unpaid toll notice and required to send payment.
[edit] Junctions
The towns, cities and roads listed are those given on road signs on the motorway as the junction is approached.
| M6 Toll Motorway | ||||
| No. | Northbound | Tolls | Southbound | Tolls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern end | Merge between M42 northbound and M6 J3a northbound | None | Split between southbound M42 and a merge with M6 J3a southbound | None |
| -- | Merge from M6 J4a southbound | None | None | |
| T1 | Split for M42 northbound, entry from A4097 (M42 J9, A446) | None | Merge with M42 southbound | None |
| T2 | No entry or exit | None | A446 (M42 north) - Coleshill | None |
| T3 Langley Mill | A38 - Sutton Coldfield (exit and entry) | Exit | A38 - Birmingham (N)/Sutton Coldfield (exit and entry) | Entry |
| Weeford Park toll | ||||
| T4 Weeford Junction | A38/A5 - Burton/Lichfield/Tamworth (exit and entry) | Exit | A5 (M42 north) - Tamworth (exit and entry) | Exit |
| T5 Wall | Entry from A5127 (A5/A5148) | None | A5148 (A38) - Lichfield/Burton | Exit |
| T6 Brownhills | A5195 - Brownhills/Burntwood (exit and entry) | Exit | A5195 - Brownhills/Burntwood (exit and entry) | Exit |
| Norton Canes services | ||||
| Great Wyrley toll | ||||
| T7 Churchbridge | A34/A460 - Walsall/Cannock/Rugeley | None | Entry | None |
| T8 Wedges Mills | A460 (M6 south) - Wolverhampton | None | Entry | None |
| Northern end | Merge with M6 J11a northbound | None | Begins from M6 J11a southbound | None |
[edit] Trivia
- The construction of the motorway threatened the restoration of the Lichfield Canal, which cut across the canal's route. Funds were raised to build an aqueduct to carry the canal over the motorway. The aqueduct has been finished but the canal has yet to reach it, giving it an odd appearance. This has had a beneficial side-effect – the Government has promised that never again will a new road be built in the path of a waterway restoration scheme, unless an aqueduct or tunnel is provided.
- Several high-performance car dealerships in the M6 Toll area quietly recommend the M6 Toll as a place to demonstrate the capabilities of their cars[citation needed]. The flat and very well maintained status of the road even encourages regular road users to exceed the normal speed limit by 10mph or more. However, the road is subject to the same motorway regulations as other motorways in the UK and is policed in the same way.
[edit] Statutory Instruments
Each motorway in England requires that a legal document called a Statutory Instrument be published, detailing the route of the road, before it can be built. The dates given on these Statutory Instruments relate to when the document was published, and not when the road was built. Provided below is a list (possibly incomplete) of the Statutory Instruments relating to the M6 Toll.
- Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 121: The Birmingham Northern Relief Road and Connecting Roads Scheme 1998 S.I. 1998/121
- Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 124: The Birmingham Northern Relief Road Toll Order 1998 S.I. 1998/124
- Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 2186: The M6 Toll (Collection of Tolls) Regulations 2003 S.I. 2003/2186
- Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 2187: The M6 Toll Wide Load Routes (Speed Limit) Regulations 2003 S.I. 2003/2187
- Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 2188: The M6 Toll (Speed Limit) Regulations 2003 S.I. 2003/2188
[edit] See also
- List of motorways in the United Kingdom
- Shunpiking, the avoidance or boycott of toll roads
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Macquarie Infrastructure Group
- CBRD Motorway Database - M6 Toll
- Traffic figures on National Alliance Against Tolls site
- BBC News report on the road's early opening
- Some detail and photographs of the route and opening day
- The Motorway Archive - M6 Toll
 |
Motorways in the United Kingdom | |
| Great Britain: M1 • M2 • M3 • M4 • M5 • M6 • M6 Toll • M8 • M9 • M10 • M11 • M18 • M20 • M23 • M25 • M26 • M27 • M32 • M40 • M42 • M45 • M48 • M49 • M50 • M53 • M54 • M55 • M56 • M57 • M58 • M60 • M61 • M62 • M65 • M66 • M67 • M69 • M73 • M74 • M77 • M80 • M90 • M180 • M181 • M271 • M275 • M602 • M606 • M621 • M876 • M898 | ||
| A1(M) • A3(M) • A38(M) • A48(M) • A57(M) • A58(M) A64(M) • A66(M) • A74(M) • A167(M) • A194(M) • A308(M) • A329(M) • A404(M) • A601(M) • A627(M) • A823(M) | ||
| Northern Ireland: M1 • M2 • M3 • M5 • M12 • M22 • A8(M) | edit | |
| Past: M41 • M63 • A18(M) • A40(M) • A41(M) • A102(M) • A6144(M) Unbuilt: M12 • M15 • M64 Future: M4 Toll | ||
