The little party organized in Brenner on September 18 brought together the European Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the Italian Minister Matteo Salvini and the Austrian Peter Hanke. Not to cut a ribbon, but to celebrate the end of the excavation of the exploration gallery, pierced for 56 km under the main tubes. This hose will not only be used for geologists: it will also be essential for drainage and future maintenance operations.
Fewer trucks, more trains
Above all, the year 2025 signs the end of the big works on the Italian side: all the drill is now completed, after kilometers swallowed with tunnel workshops. The “Mules 2-3” lot alone represents 65 km excavated, a record. In other sections, such as Pfons-Brenner, the machines continue to bite the rock, but we see the end. In total, 88 % of the tunnel is already dug.
The stake greatly exceeds the technical feat. Each year, more than 2.5 million heavy goods vehicles cross the Brenner pass, which causes traffic jams and pollution. The tunnel promises to transfer a good part of this traffic to the rail, with an innsbruck – Fortezza route reduces from 80 to … 25 minutes.
The new line, almost flat and straight (slope of only 4 to 7 %), will allow freight trains to spin at 160 km/h and passengers to reach 250 km/h. Travelers will be able to join Munich from Verona 40 % faster, and even Milan – Paris will be shortened at 4:30 a.m. in short, there is enough to redesign the map of trips in Europe.
Beyond trucks and freight trains, it is also the residents of Tyrol and Haut-Adige who hope to blow a little. Constant road traffic also leads to political tensions between Italy and Austria, regularly in disagreement on passing restrictions. The tunnel could soothe these friction and improve the quality of life in valleys hitherto saturated with traffic.
The site, estimated at 8.8 billion euros, must be completed in 2031, with an opening to the expected traffic the following year. The book fits into a vast European rail modernization plan, which also includes the Lyon – Turin line or the Messina Detroit bridge. For the moment, there are still miles of concrete to put, but the hardest part is done.
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