Traffic rises across Tyrol as Brenner truck transit grows

Traffic on Tyrol’s state roads and motorways increased in 2025, with heavy goods traffic also rising, according to the latest report by ORF and the Tyrolean government. Overall traffic grew by 1.5 percent compared with the previous year.

The report covers monitoring points on state roads as well as the Inntal and Brenner motorways. Traffic increased by 1.6 percent on state roads and by 1.3 percent on motorways.

More heavy traffic on the Brenner

Truck transit on the Brenner motorway rose by 2.4 percent in 2025. Almost 2.43 million articulated lorries and lorries with trailers passed through the Schönberg toll station.

The increase accelerated during the first seven months of 2026. By the end of July, almost 1.5 million transit trucks had been recorded on the Brenner motorway, an increase of 3.6 percent.

Rail freight gains ground

Freight transport by rail also recovered in 2025, halting the downward trend of previous years. Almost 13.7 million tonnes of goods were transported by train across the Brenner, an increase of 6.9 percent.

The share of rail in cross-border freight transport also increased slightly. Trucks carried 75 percent of freight in 2023, compared with 25 percent by rail. In 2024, the rail share rose to 27 percent, according to the latest analysis of the transport modal split.

Minister calls traffic a continuing challenge

Tyrol’s transport minister, René Zumtobel of the Social Democratic Party, said traffic in and through the province remained a challenge. He described Tyrol as a bottleneck for European transport and said transit traffic needed to be reduced, shifted to rail and distributed as fairly as possible across Alpine crossings.

Zumtobel said neighbouring countries and the European Union also had responsibilities. Tyrol would continue to demand that freight be moved onto rail, while road checks within the province would be increased.

Traffic returns to Arlberg route

Traffic on the Arlberg expressway rose sharply in 2025 after months-long closures of the Arlberg Tunnel in 2023 and 2024. The tunnel toll station recorded an average of 8,720 vehicles per day, an increase of 132 percent.

Traffic on the parallel route over the Arlberg Pass fell by more than 62 percent to an average of 2,530 vehicles per day.

The Fern Pass route recorded a slight decline in traffic, possibly because detour traffic fell after the Arlberg tunnel closures ended. Traffic increased on most other major roads, including routes in the Zillertal, at the Reschen Pass and on the Achensee road.

Vehicle numbers on the B182 at the Brenner increased by just over 5 percent on average. Zumtobel said traffic chaos around the construction of the new Lueg Bridge had been avoided through traffic metering, early traffic and construction management and a calendar of driving bans.