DRIVERS have reported being charged twice for the same journey as the Tyne Tunnel has faced teething problems on day one of it being cashless.

Some have been left confused after their Tyne Tunnel account appeared to show two lots of £1.90 for single journey made on Monday.

It comes as the tunnels faced congestion and traffic jams after it officially moved to "Open Road Tolling" earlier today.

Read more: Tyne Tunnel bosses explain why there were traffic jams on first day

Drivers took to social media to question the charge as others raised concerns over the reliability of the new system, which allows drivers to travel through using ANPR.

But TT2, which operates the tunnels, has said it is aware of the glitch affecting some accounts and said it was urging customers to instead use its website.

It said that drivers affected by the double-charge did not need to do anything further as they would be re-credited with immediate effect.

A TT2 spokesperson said: “There was a glitch with our TT2 payment app. This seemed to particularly affect one version of the operating systems on iPhones and is being rectified.

“However, until we roll out the new app over the next few days, we are asking customers to use the website  http://tt2.co.uk to access their account.

Our new app will be available soon, please keep an eye on our news page for further updates.

Read more: 5 'PayPoint' shops within mile of Tyne Tunnel where you can pay cash

“A technical issue in our back-office system meant that around 5 percent of drivers today were inadvertently double-charged for their journey.

"We have identified these accounts and we are re-crediting them with immediate effect. The issue has been fixed and this problem will not reoccur.”

TT2 also responded to drivers' concerns after traffic jams lead to some being stuck for around 40 minutes on Monday morning.

The Northern Echo: Picture: NORTH EAST TRAFFIC CAMS/TWITTERPicture: NORTH EAST TRAFFIC CAMS/TWITTER

A spokesperson said: “Changing a tolling-system that has been in operation for many decades, will naturally take drivers some time to get used to. When a driver sees something different to their normal route, their instinct is to slow down, especially on the first day.

“We had lots of extra staff on hand today to help remind drivers not to stop, and to simply drive straight through.

“The majority of travellers adjusted to the new system without any problems and congestion had eased before 10am. However, prior to that, a small number of drivers were stopping or changing lane which created some traffic congestion.

 “This is the first day of open-road-tolling and we expect with each passing day, the number of drivers stopping will reduce and journeys will be further speeded-up. We have made some adjustments to our coning system and we will make other changes to signage to improve understanding by drivers of which lane they should be using.”

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