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. Building tunnels and mountain pass roads requires taking many aspects into account, which lead to a significant increase in price. Geography plays a crucial role in this, as Switzerland is a mountainous country and tunnels as well as 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, which regularly damage the infrastructure and drive up additional maintenance costs.
Who has to pay the special toll?
An additional fee must be paid to use special toll routes, since although special toll routes are exempt from the vignette requirement, they are nevertheless subject to tolls. This means that regardless of whether you have already purchased a vignette or paid a heavy vehicle charge (in Switzerland, instead of a distance-based toll, there is the heavy vehicle charge), 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 Road Tunnel and the Munt la Schera Tunnel. You need a pass or a 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 Road Tunnel (Switzerland–Italy)
In Switzerland, the following vehicle classes apply to the Great St. Bernard Road 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 Road Tunnel (Switzerland–Italy)
The prices of the passes for the Munt la Schera Road Tunnel vary depending on the day of the week and the season. In addition, the tunnel has only 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 made up as follows:
Cars and vans with up to 9 seats and up to 3.5 t GVW: The term GVW stands for the permissible total weight of the vehicle including occupants.
Caravans/motorhomes
Motorcycles
Alpine pass roads
There are a large number of mountain pass roads that are subject to a special toll. An overview of the various Alpine passes and the corresponding prices can be found at Alpine passes/Alpine mountain 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 lots of enjoyment on your exploration tour through the country's impressive nature. Please find out 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.
