Switzerland faces a crucial choice in its transport policy: to significantly raise the Ttpcp toll for industrial vehicles from 2027 in order to strengthen the transfer of freight from road to rail, or to keep tariffs lower so as not to undermine the competitiveness of hauliers. The proposal, approved by a narrow majority in the transport committee, goes beyond a fiscal measure and touches on strategic issues concerning the country’s logistics organisation, company balance sheets and the resilience of the intermodal rail system itself.
According to its promoters, the current Ttpcp does not deliver sufficient effects to induce a real modal shift. In recent years, the rolling motorway has been suspended, SBB Cargo has reduced its services and truck transit through the Alps has started rising again. The idea is that higher tolls would make road haulage less attractive, creating scope for strengthening rail transport. Legally the move is possible: the land transport agreement with the European Union allows Switzerland to charge up to 344 francs for a Basel–Chiasso transit journey, while the current average revenue for the same route is around 280–290 francs. Parliamentary estimates suggest that raising the toll to the maximum would generate some 68 million francs in additional annual revenue, two thirds of which would be earmarked for the rail infrastructure fund, itself under heavy financial pressure.
The increase is set to come into force on 1 July 2027, ahead of the government’s original plan to apply it from 2029. It is worth noting that from 1 January 2025 tariffs were already raised by 5%, with a restructuring of fiscal categories and the abolition of discounts for vehicles equipped with particulate filters. The revision goes further than a simple price adjustment: from 2029 even electric trucks, currently exempt, will be subject to the Ttpcp, albeit with gradual discounts until 2035 to support the technological transition. At the same time Euro VI vehicles, which today represent about 90% of the circulating fleet and currently benefit from the most favourable rate, will be shifted into a more expensive category to offset revenue losses caused by the spread of cleaner vehicles. From 2025, the Ttpcp III system has also been in operation, eliminating border payment terminals and requiring hauliers to use an on-board device connected to the Set/Eets telematics system. This technological shift has cut waiting times and simplified collection, improving efficiency.
The proposal has sparked mixed reactions. The Swiss road hauliers’ association Astag voiced firm opposition: central president Thierry Burkart described the increase as “a mockery at the expense of consumers” at a time of economic difficulty and warned of further burdens for companies already under pressure. A very different view came from Pro Alps, which welcomed the decision as a step in the right direction. For the organisation, the artificial reduction of the tax in favour of diesel trucks, estimated at 300 million francs per year, is a scandal, and Parliament has a duty to correct this distortion. The parliamentary debate is equally divided: the minority formed by the SVP and FDP argues that the motion should be rejected so as not to compromise the competitiveness of businesses, fearing diversions towards other transit corridors with consequences in terms of congestion and operating costs.
The issue is entangled with a paradox undermining the coherence of Swiss strategy: on the one hand tolls are to be increased to encourage a shift to rail, while on the other rail services, which should provide the alternative, are being cut back. SBB Cargo has announced the closure of eight intermodal terminals, including two in Ticino, with the loss of forty skilled jobs. The suspension of the rolling motorway and the dismantling of infrastructure could mean an extra 100,000 trucks on the roads each year, in clear conflict with the Alpine Initiative’s objective since 2001 of limiting traffic across the mountain arc.
Adding complexity are the regulatory provisions set by the land transport agreement, which not only fixes the Ttpcp ceilings but also lays down fundamental rules such as the night-time and Sunday driving ban, the 40-tonne maximum weight and the cabotage ban for foreign hauliers. Pro Alps has also proposed introducing an automatic Ttpcp adjustment to inflation above a 3% threshold to prevent the real value of the tax from eroding further. Since 2001 inflation has been applied only once, for just 1%, while cumulative price rises have amounted to around 14%.
Parliament will in the coming months be called to decide on the proposal’s fate. The challenge will be to strike a balance between the need to strengthen sustainability and protect the Alpine arc, and the urgency not to undermine the economic competitiveness of a sector that remains central to supply and exports. The success of the strategy will not depend solely on higher tolls, but above all on the ability to guarantee an efficient and accessible rail offering. Without a real strengthening of rail, the risk is that the operation will translate into higher costs for businesses and an additional burden for consumers, rather than a genuine gain for the environment and the railway network.
