Brenner Base Tunnel

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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected future tunnel.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the tunnel approaches, and more information becomes available.

The Brenner Base Tunnel is a proposed and currently much discussed project to build a 56 km long railway tunnel through the base of the Brenner massiv.

The Brenner Pass, in the Alps at the border between Austria and Italy, is one of the most important traffic connections between northern and southern Europe, and the motorway going over it is infamous for its frequent traffic jams. Also, pollution from this traffic is a major concern and political issue not only in the adjacent Inn valley, but also for European Union politics.

The hope is to relieve this situation by greatly improving the railway connection between Tyrol and Italy with the new tunnel, which will allow trains to cross the Alps much faster. Currently, the speed in the Brenner region can hardly exceed 50 km/h due to the steepness of the existing tracks, which mount up the Brenner in order to cross at rather high elevation.

The project is funded by Austria and Italy, with smaller contributions by Germany, and the European Union. However, due to the magnitude of the project (it will be the world's second longest tunnel, after the Gotthard Base Tunnel), the funding promised so far will not suffice for the estimated costs. It is hence open whether the goal, namely to finish by 2015 will be reached.

[edit] Status

In the summer of 2006 work started on a pilot tunnel that will run along the line of the future tunnel and will be used for removing water and spoil during the major construction phase. Construction of the pilot tunnel between 2006 and 2009 is estimated to cost €430 million and will be 50% EU funded.^[1]