Brenner base tunnel: historical breakthrough after 200 tunnel kilometers!

Brenner base tunnel: historical breakthrough after 200 tunnel kilometers!

Brennerpass, Österreich - The construction of the Brenner Basist tunnel (BBT) shows remarkable progress, since 200 tunnel kilometers have been broken out. This was announced on July 9, 2025. The connection between Italy and Austria is thus significantly improved. According to 5min, progress includes 96 kilometers of main tunnel tubes, 57 kilometers of exploration tunnels and 47 kilometers of other tunnels, including safety tunnels and cross-connections.

The work is currently concentrating on the exploration tunnels, which will run 10 to 12 meters below the main tunnel. From the Austrian side, only 200 meters to the Brenner Pass are to be mastered, and a planned cross -border penetration in exploration tunnels will be sought for autumn 2025. This expects a historical moment for the European transport infrastructure, according to the BBT SE, Gilberto Cardola and Martin Gradnitzer.

technical details and importance of the project

The burner base tunnel is a 55 km long railway tunnel that runs through the Eastern Alps under the Brenner Pass. After completing his completion, he will be one of the longest railway tunnels worldwide, only exceeded by the Gotthard base tunnel in Switzerland. Together with the Inntal tunnel, the BBT will reach a total length of 64 kilometers, which makes it the longest underground rail connection of the world, reports wikipedia.

The tunnel runs from near Innsbruck in Austria to Franzensfeste in Italy and will be part of line 1 of the Trans-Sion European Transport Network (TEN-T). The planned completion is scheduled for 2032. The BBT aims to significantly improve the rail connection between North and South Tyrol and to reduce the travel time from Innsbruck to Bolzano from 2 hours to 50 minutes.

economic aspects and EU financiers

The total cost of the project is estimated at 8.384 billion euros. It is expected that the tunnel will be equipped with a ETCS Level 2 system for train control, which increases the operating speed to 250 km/h for passenger trains and 160 km/h for freight trains. The high political sensitivity regarding local and cross -border transport questions on the Brenner Pass must also be taken into account, since freight traffic over the Alps has increased significantly in recent years, as well as of EU-German was found.

The EU transport funding program "Connecting Europe Facility" supports a total of 135 transport infrastructure projects with 5.4 billion euros, of which Germany receives almost 400 million euros for twelve projects. This initiative aims to create a sustainable and safe Transe European transport network that also designs rail traffic more intelligently and safer.

In view of the importance of the burner base tunnel for the European infrastructure, his construction is considered a decisive contribution to coping with the growing traffic flows and improving travel speeds and efficiency. The progress of the BBT is pursued with excitement, with all eyes being directed at the next steps in this extensive and ambitious project.