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1/16 Toll feels truck wheels
Page 7
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TRANSPORT SECRETARY Alistair Darling cut a ribbon on a chilly Tuesday morning this week to open the M6Toll— the country's first tolled motorway.
Seconds later the first HGVs to use the road paid their £10 toll (soon to rise to L11). A convoy of three Norbert Dentressangle Renault Premiums entered the motorway followed by a trio of trucks from Cheshire-based James Irlam.
The M6 toll, and what it will mean to operators, has been the subject of wide debate, with developers Midland Expressway (MEL) describing the outcome as "positive".
Several firms are playing a 'wait and see' game before committing themselves but Norbert Dentressang,le says the toll road fits with its operational requirements.
MEL says talks with the top 100 hauliers who use the existing M6 and A5 have ended up with "hundreds" of pre-payment tags being sold, but the exact number is being kept under wraps.
The £10 toll drops to £9 off peak and MEL says this can be reduced to £8.50 because hauliers can reclaim the VAT. admits the developers have absolute power to increase the fees to any level they want.whenever they like. But he adds:-If they were daft enough to charge unreasonable fees they could end up with an empty road."
The 27-mile M6 Toll, which has been completed a month ahead of schedule, runs to the north-east of Birmingham between Junctions 4 and 11 of the existing M6. It is expected to cut average journey times through the West Midlands by as much as 45 minutes.
The entire link will he open from Saturday 13 December. Traffic travelling north on the M42 will be able to access the M6 Toll from J8: northbound traffic on the M6 can join it from 34; and vehicles heading south on the M6 will join the toll road from J I 1 a.