Special toll Switzerland
What is a special toll?
Special toll routes are often tunnels or mountain pass roads, which are associated with higher construction and maintenance costs. Many aspects must be taken into account when building tunnels and mountain pass roads, which lead to a significant increase in price. Geography plays a decisive role here, as Switzerland is a mountainous country and tunnels and mountain pass roads often have to be built through difficult terrain.
Construction is therefore associated with greater technical challenges, which at the same time lead to higher costs due to specialized machinery and technologies. At the same time, maintenance is also more expensive, as the condition of mountain pass roads is significantly influenced by weather conditions. These include snowfall, rockfalls, or other natural events that regularly damage the infrastructure and result in additional maintenance costs.
Who has to pay the special toll?
An additional fee must be paid to use the special toll routes, as special toll routes are exempt from the vignette requirement but are still subject to tolls. This means that, regardless of whether you have already purchased a vignette or paid a heavy vehicle charge (in Switzerland, the heavy vehicle charge exists instead of the route-based toll), you must pay an additional amount for certain tunnels and mountain pass roads.
Accordingly, every vehicle owner must pay the special toll as soon as the special toll route is used. Please note that most special toll routes can be reached via access roads subject to the vignette requirement or routes subject to the heavy vehicle charge.
Which routes are subject to the special toll?
In Switzerland, there are two different tunnels as well as a large number of Alpine mountain pass roads that are subject to the special toll. The tunnels subject to the special toll include the Great St. Bernard Tunnel and the Munt la Schera Tunnel. You need a pass or ticket to use these tunnels. This ticket covers either a one-way trip or a round trip. In addition, the prices of the passes vary depending on the vehicle class.
Great St. Bernard Tunnel (Switzerland–Italy)
In Switzerland, the following vehicle classes apply to the Great St. Bernard Tunnel:
Category A1: Motorcycle, motorcycle with sidecar, motorcycle with trailer
Category A2: Vehicles with two or more axles, height at the front axle under 1.30 m, total height max. 2 m
Category B1: Vehicles with two or more axles, total height over 2 m and max. 3 m
Munt la Schera Tunnel (Switzerland–Italy)
The prices of the passes for the Munt la Schera Tunnel vary depending on the day of the week and the season. In addition, the tunnel only has one lane and is therefore operated alternately as one-way traffic with traffic lights. The Munt la Schera Tunnel is 3.5 km long, has a height of 3.6 m, and a width of 2.55 m. The vehicle classes are as follows:
Cars and vans with up to 9 seats and up to 3.5 t GVW: GVW stands for the permissible gross vehicle weight, including occupants.
Caravans/motorhomes
Motorcycles
Alpine pass roads
There are numerous mountain pass roads that are subject to a special toll. An overview of the various Alpine passes and their associated prices can be found at Alpine passes/Alpine pass roads.
Where can a pass be purchased?
You can already purchase the passes for the various special toll routes online and pay by credit card there. You can also purchase the passes on-site at the special toll routes. However, please note the opening hours of the various toll stations.
The Europamaut team wishes you a pleasant journey
We wish you a pleasant journey to Switzerland and much enjoyment on your exploration tour through the country's impressive nature. Please inform yourself in good time about the applicable toll regulations. In addition, our route planner is available to help you plan your journey optimally and display the corresponding toll products. If you have any questions, we will of course be happy to help. Feel free to contact us at any time by email.
