M6 Toll

M6 Toll motorway
Route information
Part of E05
Length:	27 mi (43 km)
Existed:	2002 – present
Major junctions
From:	Coleshill
	M6 motorway M42 motorway
To:	Cheslyn Hay
Location
Primary destinations:	Cannock, Brownhills, Lichfield
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways • A and B road zones

The M6 Toll (or Birmingham North Relief Road / BNRR), connects M6 Junction 4 at the NEC to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with 27 miles (43 km) of six-lane motorway. The weekday cash cost is £5.30 for a car and £10.60 for a HGV. The M6 Toll is part of the (unsigned in the UK) E-road E05 and is subject to the same regulations and policing as other motorways in the UK.

Tolls

Prices (from March 2011)

^[1][2]

Guide	Mon - Fri (06:00 - 23:00)	Sat - Sun (06:00 - 23:00)	Night (23:00 - 06:00)
Class 1 (e.g. motorbike)	£3.00	£2.80	£1.80
Class 2 (e.g. car)	£5.30	£4.80	£3.80
Class 3 (e.g. car & trailer)	£9.60	£8.60	£7.60
Class 4 (e.g. van/coach)	£10.60	£9.60	£8.60
Class 5 (e.g. HGV)	£10.60	£9.60	£8.60

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. If it is not paid within two days a £10 administration charge is added, plus further costs will be added if the toll is still unpaid after 14 days.

An M6 Toll tag is an electronic toll collection device attached to a vehicle's windscreen, which records the vehicle's passage through toll plazas on the M6 Toll.

Each tag can only be used with the registered number plate and has a unique account. All accounts on the M6 Toll are pre-paid, and must contain a positive balance, sufficient to cover the cost of the vehicle's toll, in order for the vehicle to be allowed through the toll gate. If the balance is sufficient, the tag will beep once and the barrier at the toll gate will automatically raise. If the balance is low (fewer than three journeys remaining), the tag will beep twice. If the balance of the account cannot cover the cost of the toll, the barrier will remain closed and an alternative method of payment must be used. Balances can be topped up automatically once a month using Direct Debit or credit card, or by cheque.

The tags contain a microchip which uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. Physically, the tag resembles a DART-Tag, as used to pay the tolls on the Dartford Crossing. However, the two systems do not interoperate.

Features

Toll plaza for northbound traffic at Great Wyrley

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 construction of the motorway threatened the restoration of the Lichfield Canal, which cut across the motorway's route. The Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust (whose vice-president is the actor David Suchet) campaigned and raised funds to build an aqueduct to carry the canal over the motorway.^[3] The aqueduct has been finished but the canal has yet to reach it, giving it an odd appearance.

The motorway's only service station is situated at Norton Canes, between junctions T6 and T7.

History

Planning and construction

Proposals for a new publicly funded motorway were circulated in 1980.^[4] It was originally called the Birmingham North Relief Road (BNRR) and designed to alleviate the increasing congestion on the M6 through Birmingham and the Black Country, in England, which is the busiest section of the M6 was previously carrying up to 180,000 vehicles per day when it was designed to carry only 72,000.

Five alternative routes were put for consultation in 1980 and a preferred route was published in 1986. In 1989 there was a public inquiry relating to a publicly funded motorway.^[4]

In 1989 it was announced that it would be built privately and a competition took place which was won by Midland Expressway Ltd in 1991.^[4] The contract was for a 53-year concession to build and operate the road as an early form of public private partnership with the operator paying for the construction and recouping its costs by setting and collecting tolls, allowing for a 3 year construction period followed by 50 years of operation. At the end of this period the infrastructure would be returned to the Government. Toll rates are set at the discretion of the operator at six-monthly intervals and there is no cap on the rates charged.^[5]

There was a second public inquiry from relating to the new scheme in 1994-1995 and a go-ahead in 1997. A legal challenge was made by the 'Alliance against BNRR' which was cleared in 1998.^[4]

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).^[4]

Site clearance started in 2000 and the road opened in December 2003.^[4] When creating the surface of the road some 2.5 million Mills & Boon novels were pulped and mixed into the tarmac to help the surface absorbency.^[6]

Construction work began in the summer of 2002.

In August 2003 freight operators indicated that they planned to keep their vehicles on the heavily congested M6 through Birmingham rather than send them on the new motorway due to high fees. The AA Motoring Trust said it welcomed the decision to make lorries pay a premium rate explaining that “Car drivers find lorries intimidating and they frequently hold up traffic on motorways when overtaking each other.^[7]

The road was partially opened on 9 December 2003 for traffic entering from local junctions, then fully opened on 14 December 2003.^[8]

First year of operation

On 10 January 2004, just five 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.^[9] On 19 January work also began on a separate stretch near Langley Mill, to deal with heavy rainwater failing to drain away.^{[citation needed]}

On 23 July 2004 prices for lorries were reduced from £10 to £6 to encourage them to use the route "for a trial period".^[10]

In August 2004 a lower price was available during off-peak hours (23:00 - 06:00) and for the Langley Mill for a northbound exit or a southbound entry.^{[citation needed]}

Traffic levels

In December 2004, one year after opening, Friends of the Earth issued a press release expressing concern that faced with lower than expected traffic numbers, Midland Expressway were trying to attract new traffic-generating developments to greenbelt and greenfield sites in the M6 Toll Corridor.^[11] and in April 2005 the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reported that there was strong interest in the commercial property market place around the M6 Toll "zone of influence".^[12]

In May 2005 the Macquarie Infrastructure Group reported that traffic figures were "disappointing".^[13] In August 2005 the Highways Agency confirmed in its own 'one year' study showing that usage had settled at around 50,000 vehicle per day (lower than the predicted 74,000) but that traffic volumes on the M6 had reduced slightly.^[14]

From 2008, traffic levels started to fall. Traffic in the first quarter of 2009 was 10% less than the year before, 1Q2008 was itself 10% less than 1Q2007. At 39,000 vehicles-per-day (Monday-Friday figures) traffic is about half the 74,000 predicted.^{[citation needed]}

Historic tolls

Day time cash prices for various vehicle classes since opening:

Class	9 December 2003[15]	23 July 2004[10]	16 August 2004[10]	14 June 2005[16]	1 January 2008[17][18]	1 January 2009[19]	1 March 2010[20]
Class 1 (e.g. Motorbike)	£1	£1	£1	£2.50	£2.50	£2.70	£2.70
Class 2 (e.g. Car)	£2	£2	£3	£3.50	£4.50	£4.70	£5
Class 4 (e.g. Van)	£5	£5	£5	£7	£9	£9.40	£10
Class 5 (e.g. HGV)	£10	£6	£6	£7	£9	£9.40	£10

There is a 5% discount for using a tag. Leasing of one tag currently costs £1.00/month. In addition, a monthly administrative fee of £2.00 is charged if the user wishes to receive a postal statement.^[21]

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.

M6 Expressway

There was a proposal to build a new toll motorway, called the M6 Expressway running 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.^[22]

Midland Expressway Ltd

The contract to build and operate the M6 Toll was won by Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL) in 1991.^[4] In 2005 MEL reported an operating profit of around £16 million. 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.^[23]

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".^[24]

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.^[25]

In June 2006 the decision to not increase tolls was put down to disappointing traffic levels and led to a reduction in value for the owner.^[26]

Criticisms

Design

There have been further accusations that junctions on the road are under-standard, as they all involve small radius curves and require drivers to brake hard on leaving the motorway.^{[citation needed]}

There is also the lack of a proper link between the M6 Toll and M54, which joins the M6 only 1.5 miles/2.5 km south of the northern end of the M6 Toll, to contend with. Plans are afoot to link them eventually^[27] but for the time being traffic between the two has to use either the slow and often congested A460 to M54 J1, or go from M54 J2 via the A449 and A5 to M6 J12- an extra 4 miles/7 km. It is unclear why access to/from the M54, which provides a link to the West Midlands from not only Shropshire but much of Wales as well, was not considered a priority when the toll road was being built- indeed the M6 Toll did not appear on the M54's junction signs (at J2) until early 2009, more than 5 years after the road was opened.

The M6 Toll provides no relief for traffic heading to the North West from the M5 (or vice-versa), for which the "old" M6 is the only option. Drivers of this route must be especially careful to avoid the "default" M6 Toll lanes, as the toll road will not only cost them the toll but will also take them severely off course.

Misleading signage

Considerable disquiet was expressed^{[citation needed]} soon after the opening of the M6 Toll at signage which directed drivers making local journeys onto the toll road replaced older signs. As well as incurring toll charges, the new routes were longer than the original routes leading to accusations that this was just a ploy to increase traffic on the M6 Toll.^[28] Similar accusations have been made about traffic signs on the M6 that announce "M6 TOLL CLEAR", even when the M6 is also clear, that are under the control of Midland Expressway Ltd.^[29] These issues are mentioned on the M6 Toll FAQ pages, with explanations which emphasise that all drivers using the road are still liable to pay the toll.^[30]

Protest during planning and construction

Environmental campaigners opposed the road, from its inception. While 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.

Friends of the Earth claimed that the road would 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 £900 million cost of the road had been borne by private companies, the money should have been spent on public transport.^[25]

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.	Coordinates	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
M6 Merge		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	52°33′06″N 1°44′12″W / 52.5516°N 1.7368°W / 52.5516; -1.7368 (T2)	No entry or exit	None	A446 (M42 north) - Coleshill	None
T3 Langley Mill	52°33′57″N 1°45′55″W / 52.5658°N 1.7654°W / 52.5658; -1.7654 (T3 Langley Mill)	A38 - Sutton Coldfield (exit and entry)	Exit	A38 - Birmingham (N)/Sutton Coldfield (exit and entry)	Entry
	52°37′24″N 1°48′03″W / 52.6232°N 1.8007°W / 52.6232; -1.8007			Weeford Park toll
T4 Weeford Junction	52°38′18″N 1°48′40″W / 52.6384°N 1.8111°W / 52.6384; -1.8111 (T4 Weeford Junction)	A38/A5 - Burton/Lichfield/Tamworth (exit and entry)	Exit	A5 (M42 north) - Tamworth (exit and entry)	Exit
T5 Wall	52°38′52″N 1°50′05″W / 52.6478°N 1.8348°W / 52.6478; -1.8348 (T5 Wall)	Entry from A5127 (A5/A5148)	None	A5148 (A38) - Lichfield/Burton	Exit
T6 Brownhills	52°39′44″N 1°55′34″W / 52.6621°N 1.926°W / 52.6621; -1.926 (T6 Brownhills)	A5195 - Brownhills/Burntwood (exit and entry)	Exit	A5195 - Brownhills/Burntwood (exit and entry)	Exit
	52°39′45″N 1°58′09″W / 52.6626°N 1.9693°W / 52.6626; -1.9693	Norton Canes services
	52°40′04″N 2°00′01″W / 52.6677°N 2.0003°W / 52.6677; -2.0003	Great Wyrley toll
T7 Churchbridge	52°40′21″N 2°00′55″W / 52.6725°N 2.0154°W / 52.6725; -2.0154 (T7 Churchbridge)	A34/A460 - Walsall/Cannock/Rugeley	None	Entry	None
T8 Wedges Mills	52°39′54″N 2°03′26″W / 52.6649°N 2.0572°W / 52.6649; -2.0572 (T8 Wedges Mills)	A460 (M6 south) - Wolverhampton	None	Entry	None
Northern end	52°40′06″N 2°04′18″W / 52.6682°N 2.0716°W / 52.6682; -2.0716 (Northern end)	Merge with M6 J11a northbound	None	Begins from M6 J11a southbound	None

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

See also

• List of motorways in the United Kingdom
• Shunpiking, the avoidance or boycott of toll roads

References

1. ^ M6 Toll prices "M6toll pricing". http://www.m6toll.co.uk/pricing/default.asp?mainmenuid=4 M6 Toll prices. Retrieved 2010-03-01. 
2. ^ "Pricing table - Prices valid from 1st March 2011" (PDF). M6 Toll. http://www.m6toll.co.uk/UserFiles/File/PRICING/MelPricingTable.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-01. 
3. ^ http://www.m6toll.co.uk/about/environment.asp
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Mt Toll - Overview". M6 Toll. http://www.m6toll.co.uk/about/project.asp. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
5. ^ nsrd/pdvn/lds05/text/50614w04.htm "Lords Hansard text". 2005-06-14. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldha nsrd/pdvn/lds05/text/50614w04.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-30. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "M6 Toll built with pulped fiction". BBC News. 2003-12-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3330245.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
7. ^ Ben Webster (2003-08-03). "drivers to bypass toll road". The Times (London). http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/article1068918.eceLorry. Retrieved 2008-01-24. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "M6 Toll figures 'encouraging'". BBC News. 2003-12-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/staffordshire/3346931.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
9. ^ "M6 Toll branded big flop". icBirmingham. 2004-02-06. http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/content_objectid=13923135_method=full_siteid=50002_headline=-M6-Toll-branded-big-flop-name_page.html. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
10. ^ ^{a b c} "The M6 Toll has reached its 10 millionth customer". M6 Toll. 2008-08-13. http://www.m6toll.co.uk/pressdetail.asp?id=19. Retrieved 2008-01-23. 
11. ^ "First Anniversary of M6 Toll Opening". Friends of the Earth. 2004-12-09. http://www.foe.org.uk/resource/press_releases/first_anniversary_of_m6_to_08122004.html. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
12. ^ John de Kanter (2005-05-01). "The M6 Toll: 12 Months On". Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors. Archived from the original on 2008-05-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20080504075553/http://www.rics.org/lostproperty/Jennifer+Deletions/m6toll010405.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
13. ^ "MIG M6 April Traffic Disappointing - GSJBW". new ratings. 2005-05-23. http://www.newratings.com/analyst_news/article_814169.html. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
14. ^ "one year after study" (PDF). Highways Agency. 2005-08-11. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/documents/one_year_after_study.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
15. ^ "The M6 toll road". BBC Birmingham. http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/travel/m6-toll-rd.shtml. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
16. ^ "Pricing table - valid from 14 June 2005" (PDF). M6 Toll. http://www.m6toll.co.uk/pricing/chartprices14Jun.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-23. 
17. ^ "Toll Price Rise 1-1-08" (PDF). M6 Toll. http://www.m6toll.co.uk/UserFiles/File/Toll%20Price%20Rise%20Toll%20Rates%20from%201-1-08(1).pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-24. 
18. ^ M6 Toll prices pdf chart "M6toll pricing pdf chart". http://www.m6toll.co.uk/UserFiles/File/2ndchartprices1jan08.pdf M6 Toll prices pdf chart. Retrieved 2008-01-02. 
19. ^ "Pricing table - Prices valid from 1st January 2009" (PDF). M6 Toll. http://www.m6toll.co.uk/UserFiles/File/Pricing%20Table%201-1-09.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-01. 
20. ^ "Pricing table - Prices valid from 1st March 2010" (PDF). M6 Toll. http://www.m6toll.co.uk/UserFiles/File/Pricing%20Table%201-3-10.pdf. Retrieved 2011-03-01. 
21. ^ "M6 Toll - Overview - Tags". M6 Toll. 2009-02-18. https://secure.m6toll.co.uk/account/tags.asp?mainmenuid=5. Retrieved 2009-02-18. 
22. ^ "Decision on M6 upgrade announced". 2006-07-20. http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=215626&NewsAreaID=2. Retrieved 2007-09-30. 
23. ^ "M6Toll traffic returning after toll increase last summer". 2006-02-13. http://tollroadsnews.info/artman/publish/article_1266.shtml. Retrieved 2007-09-30. 
24. ^ "Morgan takes the chair at BioDiem". The Age (Melbourne). 2005-08-26. http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/morgan-takes-the-chair-at-biodiem/2005/08/26/1124562983424.html. Retrieved 2007-09-30. 
25. ^ ^{a b} "Head to head: M6 toll road". BBC News. 2003-12-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3303629.stm. Retrieved 2007-09-30. 
26. ^ "MIG's toll decision leads to downgrade". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2006-05-23. http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/MIGs-toll-decision-leads-to-downgrade/2006/05/23/1148150241558.html. Retrieved 2007-09-30. 
27. ^ "M54 link to M6 Toll". 2009-04-20. http://www.cbrd.co.uk/futures/scheme.php?id=24. Retrieved 2009-04-20. 
28. ^ "Association of British Drivers". http://www.abd.org.uk/local/m6_toll.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 
29. ^ "BBC Birmingham". http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/travel/m6toll_comments_page.shtml. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 
30. ^ "M6 Toll FAQ". http://www.m6toll.co.uk/faqs/default.asp. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 

External links

Map of all coordinates from Google Map of all coordinates from Bing
Export all coordinates as KML
Export all coordinates as GeoRSS
Map of all microformatted coordinates
Place data as RDF

• Official site
• M6 Toll Ltd - tag details
• 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
• NoTolls
• Pathetic Motorways: A446(M)
• Roadtraffic-technology.com: M6 Toll