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Logistics associations have launched their latest salvo against long-running road congestion on the Brenner route, pleading with the European Commission to intervene and force Austria to row back the HGV restrictions it implemented four years ago.
AISÖ, BGL, FNTR, IRU, ITD, NLA, and TLN have jointly urged the EC to begin negotiation with Austria and its neighbours on ways to improve the short-term congestion caused by single-lane traffic flow at the Lueg Bridge and Tyrol’s anti-transit measures on road freight transport.
“Possible solutions could include easing traffic congestion by making the truck bans more flexible, particularly for all environmentally friendly and quiet vehicles,” the collective said.
“Due to the current problems with Brenner, affected transport companies are experiencing an average productivity loss of 30%. On days with block clearance, this can even exceed 50%.”
Austria imposed a strict ban for trucks transiting the Brenner route in 2021, leaving severely capacity-constrained rail the only alternative for intra-European overland freight until completion of the Brenner Tunnel, which is not expected before 2033.
The ban has been heavily criticised, with the EC confirming in 2024 that the policy was in breach of EU law, opening a door Italy stepped through to bring a case before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that same year, with a verdict still pending.
“Since it is currently impossible to predict when the ECJ will issue a ruling on Italy’s justified lawsuit against Tyrol’s EU-violating measures, we’re calling for a short-term improvement of the traffic situation through negotiations,” the logistics associations added.
“A few days ago, the Alpine Transit Working Group met with the EC Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, which assured that group of its full support in resolving the transit problems in Tyrol.”
In reaching its decision, the EC highlighted Austria’s breaches of Articles 34 and 35 of the Treaty for the Functioning of the EU, which says member states cannot impose ‘quantitative restrictions’ on other member states.
Prior to the ban, some 7,000 trucks were transiting the route, but the measures then caused traffic jams of up to 70km long and led to a number of rear-end collisions in the Tyrol region, a situation described by the IRU as an “unbearable traffic and traffic-endangering situation”.
Raluca Marian, the IRU’s EU advocacy director, told The Loadstar that the ban has been “heavily criticised”, with the IRU having consistently called for coordinated and workable solutions to guarantee transit through the Alps and address congestion along key European corridors such as the Brenner.
“Fragmented or unilateral traffic restrictions and multiple road and rail maintenance works create significant operational disruption for transport operators and risk undermining the functioning of the EU single market,” Ms Marian added.
“We support structured dialogue between the European Commission and the countries concerned to identify workable short-term mitigation measures, alongside sustainable long-term infrastructure solutions.”
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