Pressure on heavy vehicle transit along the Brenner corridor will remain high in 2026, starting with the extension of the metering system on selected days. At the end of August 2025, the Tyrolean authorities published the calendar for the first quarter of 2026, which includes eight regulation days at Kufstein Nord on the A12. Controls will begin at 5.00 a.m., with a maximum limit of 300 trucks per hour heading south towards Italy. The measure is enforced through an automated system, introduced in 2020, that manages flows with cameras, traffic lights and electronic signage.
The metering days in the first quarter of 2026 are Wednesday 7 January; Monday 2 February; Monday 9 February; Monday 16 February; Monday 23 February; Monday 2 March; Monday 9 March and Monday 16 March. Alongside these restrictions, Tyrol continues to combat diversionary traffic by banning trucks from more than forty secondary roads at weekends and on public holidays. Since May 2025, checks have already turned back over 38,500 vehicles, forcing them to return to the main routes. The areas most affected are the districts of Reutte and Kufstein as well as the urban belt around Innsbruck.
The situation is further complicated by the condition of the Luegbrücke viaduct on the A13, a vital but structurally compromised link. Since January 2025 the bridge has been operating with a single carriageway, supplemented by temporary two-lane solutions for 180 days a year during peak traffic periods. In these configurations, vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are required to use the left lane, while cars may use both.
Commodity-based restrictions also remain in place, including the sectoral ban on the A12, which prohibits the transit of certain categories of goods, ranging from waste to petroleum products, marble, steel and construction materials. The only exceptions apply to Euro VI certified vehicles and transport with a local origin or destination. Electronic monitoring verifies documentation in real time, limiting the scope for circumvention.
The most critical issue for businesses, however, concerns tolls. Austria has introduced a system that adds a surcharge linked to CO2 emissions, which will progressively increase until 2026. For that year, the environmental component alone will rise by 5.2%, but when adjusted for inflation the overall increase will reach 8.4%. In practical terms, the cost of crossing the Brenner corridor for a Euro VI truck will rise from the current 88.75 euros (2024) to more than 109 euros. For a 40-tonne articulated lorry this translates into annual costs rising from an estimated 81,000 to around 92,000 euros.
The Austrian Chamber of Commerce has openly contested the measure, calling it “counterproductive for the economy” and urging a freeze on tariffs at 2025 levels. Operators complain of an excessive imbalance between toll revenue and the actual costs of infrastructure. Independent studies estimate that truck tolls generate annual revenues of 1.7 billion euros, 20% higher than operating costs, with a surplus of more than half a billion that is not reinvested in the road network.
The package of measures also includes temporary bans on vehicles over 7.5 tonnes on sections of the A12, A13 and A14, in force at weekends and on selected weekdays. Enforcement is ensured through fixed and mobile checks, with immediate penalties for violations. Additional tools include automatic metering traffic lights on the B182, which regulate flows without human intervention, and the integration of bans into navigation systems to reduce unintentional infringements.
Looking ahead, Austria, Bavaria and Italy have reopened talks on a digital booking system for commercial transits. A prototype already exists, but its implementation requires approval from the Italian authorities. The possible introduction of a binding booking model could represent a further paradigm shift for freight traffic over the Brenner, reshaping international logistics planning.
