The Catalan government is weighing the return of tolls on several high-capacity roads, with a possible rollout in two to three years. The move, confirmed by the region’s Secretary of Mobility, Manel Nadal, would extend beyond the AP-7 to other major arteries, including the AP-2 and C-14, as well as the C-12 and Eix Transversal. The plan follows recent remarks in the Catalan Parliament, where Salvador Illa acknowledged that scrapping tolls on many expressways may have been a collective mistake.
Nadal said the Generalitat is exploring how to reintroduce tolls to manage traffic and fund road maintenance. Any changes on state-owned roads would require coordination with the central government. The debate, reignited this week, has found broad political support in the regional parliament, raising the prospect that new toll systems could be operational within a few years if consensus holds. The policy question is how to collect revenue and whether road pricing could distribute heavy-vehicle traffic more evenly across the network.
Beyond the AP-7, where truck-related accidents and severe congestion have increased, officials are considering tolls on all high-capacity routes managed by the Generalitat and the Ministry of Transport. The pressure was underscored most recently by an eight-hour traffic jam caused by lorry incidents. Nadal argued that when tolls were in place until 2021, heavy vehicles were more evenly distributed across the network, reducing bottlenecks and improving safety. In an opinion article in El Periódico, Joan López Alegre described the post-toll shift as “more traffic and trucks leaving the N-340 to travel on the AP-7,” showing how removing charges altered freight-routing incentives.
Traffic and safety figures add urgency to the debate. Between January and September 2026, the AP-7 recorded 12 deaths in 646 accidents, a 33% increase in fatalities; serious injuries were reported to have doubled compared with the same period in 2019. Breakdowns were up 40% in 2026, while incidents involving trucks were reported to be 20% higher than in 2019. These figures have informed plans for variable speed controls on about 200 kilometres of the motorway, including the possibility of lowering limits to 100 km/h on selected stretches. In affected sections, passenger vehicles may be limited to 100 km/h and heavy trucks to 80 km/h. Some stretches between Maçanet and La Jonquera, and between El Vendrell and Terres de l’Ebre, would remain at 120 km/h.
Recent incidents show the disruption that heavy-vehicle crashes can cause. On 22 October 2026, an incident involving three trucks near Barberà del Vallès closed two lanes toward Tarragona and led to a 3.5-kilometre queue. The lanes reopened after the trucks were removed, but congestion persisted. A day earlier, a truck overturned near Fogars de la Selva, between Fogars de la Selva and Maçanet de la Selva, leaving one lane open toward Barcelona. Congestion reached seven kilometres before easing to 5.5 kilometres. Such incidents underline the importance of reliable incident response and maintenance alongside any pricing policy. They do not, on their own, establish that tolls would prevent crashes or breakdowns.
Nadal also cited deteriorating road conditions and abandoned vehicles as issues that renewed toll revenue could address. He stressed the need for a unified approach across Spain, warning that it would be unreasonable for truck drivers to pay only when entering Catalonia while travelling toll-free elsewhere in the country. The post-toll pressure on the AP-7 has sharpened that argument: charges could influence demand and provide funding, but they would not add lanes. Nor would they repair vehicles or meet maintenance needs.
The government is reviewing several toll-collection models. One option is the Swiss-style eurovignette, a flat-rate system, but it is seen as a temporary fix because EU regulations will allow it only until 2032. Another alternative is the Portuguese model, which uses electronic gantries to record licence plates and bill drivers automatically as they enter and exit toll roads. Any charging system would operate alongside traffic controls and safety measures, with capacity decisions also in play.
As an interim safety measure, authorities are also considering reducing speed limits or temporarily banning overtaking on certain days. The proposed speed controls on the AP-7 are intended to reduce crashes and abrupt braking while longer-term solutions are developed.
Tolls were removed in Catalonia in 2021 as part of a broader national policy shift that ended decades of pay-per-use on many Spanish highways. Drivers initially welcomed the change, but it has since been followed by higher traffic volumes and maintenance challenges, with accidents also rising on some routes. Across Europe, toll systems vary widely: France and Italy maintain extensive toll networks, while Germany and Switzerland focus tolls primarily on heavy vehicles. The debate in Catalonia reflects a wider European reassessment of how to fund and manage major transport infrastructure amid rising costs and changing mobility needs.
