I’ve worked at the Tyne Tunnels for 44 years and now they can’t get rid of me

Tracy Scrivener first started working at the Tyne Tunnels back in May 1981 as a 16-year-old.

Fast forward to 2025 and Tracy, who is from North Tyneside, is still working for TT2 - with the Tyne Tunnels operation vastly changing in her time at the company.

She started her career in the counting room, where staff would count the money collected at the toll booths by hand, before going on to hold a variety of different positions within the organisation.

Tracy has explained that she was only temporary cover when she first started working at the Tyne Tunnels before it turned into a job for life.

The 60-year-old said: “When I originally started, I only came to cover somebody’s week-long holiday and now they can’t get rid of me, I’m still here.

“I enjoy what I do and the people who I work with - it fits in with my lifestyle and allows me to do what I want to do.

“When I started, I was in the counting room where we would count all the money that was taken at the toll booths by hand - we would write everything in ledgers as there was no computers or anything like that.

“I moved on from that to become head of the counting room before coming into the general office to do basic admin.

“I then worked outside with the traffic on the operations team after getting my heavy goods licence, where I progressed to being a senior tunnels officer.

“After that, I moved back into the office to work on the permit team before shifting to accounts, which is where I am now.”

Tracy also revealed that meeting royalty during the opening of the second Tyne Tunnel was a standout moment for her over the last 44 years.

She added: “One of the best moments was meeting The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh when they opened the second tunnel.

“It was a really nice experience, especially because the Duke was really funny and personable.

“Also, just working with lovely people all of the time - it helps if you like the people who you work with.

“It has been a really nice place to work and if you put in the work, then you get rewarded for it.”

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