Switzerland weighs 80 km/h motorway limit as fuel reserves are tapped

What the authorities are weighing

The Federal Office for National Economic Supply (BWL) has examined internally whether cutting motorway speed limits could help if fuel runs short. The proposal would lower the limit from 120 km/h to 80 km/h on most Swiss motorways. According to the office, such a cut would accompany the releases from compulsory reserves already under way and add further savings, although the size of those savings has not yet been set. The Swiss Green Party had proposed the same reduction when the war in Iran broke out. The BWL confirmed the review on Thursday, 29 October, after SRF first reported it, but said it does not disclose details of internal consultations before the opinion-forming process is complete.

Why supply is tight

The pressure comes from the war in the Middle East and unusually low water on the Rhine. Petrol and heating oil normally reach Switzerland by barge through Rotterdam and Basel, but the shallow river keeps cargo ships out, so that traffic is heavily restricted. Crude oil still arrives by ship from the United States and flows by pipeline from Marseille to the refinery at Cressier, while petrol and diesel come by rail from the Ingolstadt refinery in Germany. Heavy rain in southern France flooded pumping stations and briefly interrupted a pipeline, and the Rhine valley rail line has been closed several times. A technical defect at the Cressier refinery, the country's only one, in September added further strain.

Roland Pfister, the federal delegate for economic national supply, pointed to the weather behind the pipeline problem.

“Only last week heavy rain in southern France caused a brief pipeline interruption because pumping stations were under water.”

Reserves and the delivery problem

Roland Pfister, the federal delegate for economic national supply, explained the pressure in these words.

“The situation is tense because the Rhine has not been navigable for some time.”

He framed the issue as one of deliveries rather than availability. The compulsory stocks are already being drawn on: on 23 October, 45 million litres of diesel, just under 4% of the available compulsory stocks, were authorised for release. The BWL's situation overview describes this as a supporting measure. If imports stopped, petrol and diesel reserves would last just over four and a half months, while kerosene would probably last about three months.

Prices and the speed-limit case

Fuel prices have already climbed. According to figures from the Touring Club Schweiz (TCS), petrol averages CHF 2.13 per litre, 48 rappen more than at the start of the year. Diesel rose 36%, from about CHF 1.78 to CHF 2.42 per litre. The federal government considers a temporary speed reduction an attractive option because the Federal Council could order it quickly, and it would both save fuel and send a strong signal to the public. Meanwhile, the government is asking people to share cars, use public transport and cut leisure trips. The measure is still far from implementation and would come into play only once a substantial part of the compulsory stocks had been used and voluntary saving proved insufficient.

Start of 20261.78

Late October 20262.42

Start of 2026

1.78 CHF

Late October 2026

2.42 CHF

Data from the article text

How the situation developed

The sequence began with the technical defect at Cressier in September and moved to the reserve release on 23 October. Kerosene is the most precarious fuel, with reserves covering probably only about three months. Diesel is the fuel where the authorities have used the most of their stocks so far, at just under 4%. The review of a speed limit was reported on 29 October, six days after the reserve release. The authorities describe the core risk as a delivery problem, so the timing of any further release depends on how long pipeline and rail disruptions last.