ROME – Engineers pierced through the final rock barrier on Sept 18, completing the main excavation of the Brenner Base Tunnel, a landmark project that will become the world’s longest underground rail connection when finished. The tunnel, linking Austria and Italy beneath the Alps, is key to the European Union’s effort to shift freight from congested road networks to cleaner, faster rail.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, attending the ceremony, called the breakthrough a turning point. “Today we are taking together a decisive step for the construction of one of the largest infrastructure works in the entire continent,” she said, hailing it as “a historic day for Italy, for Austria, and for the whole of Europe.”
Once complete, the 55km tunnel, extending to 64km by connecting to existing underground links near Innsbruck, will slash travel times between Fortezza and Innsbruck from 80 minutes to less than 25 minutes. Costing an estimated €8.5 billion, the project faces delays of nearly 16 years but is expected to be ready by 2032.
The Brenner Pass currently sees over 2.5 million trucks and 50 million tonnes of goods transported annually, making it one of Europe’s busiest corridors. With 70 percent of trans-Alpine freight still reliant on road transit, the tunnel aims to reverse the road-to-rail imbalance while easing pollution and congestion in Alpine communities.
Yet uncertainties remain. Germany has yet to finalize its northern access routes, a delay that could undermine the tunnel’s strategic impact on reshaping Europe’s cross-border trade and transport flows.