The first tunnel connecting Austria and Italy under the Alps has broken through some 1.4km beneath the Brenner Pass, which forms the border between the two countries.
When completed, the tunnel will connect the cities of Fortezza in Italy to Innsbruck in Austria, carrying passenger trains travelling at speeds up to 250km/h, cutting travel time between the two cities from 80 minutes to 25.
Webuild is building the tunnel on the Italian side using the tunnel boring machine “Flavia”.
The full 64km Brenner Base Tunnel will be the world’s longest railway tunnel, completing a rail link that will run from Helsinki, Finland to La Valletta, Malta.
It will be part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network, also known as TEN-T.
Pietro Salini, Webuild’s chief executive, said: “We have excavated under the Alps, overcoming extreme geotechnical conditions thanks to the adoption of advanced technological solutions, all the while ensuring safety and sustainability at every stage.
“The tunnel that today joins Italy and Austria represents the skill of Italy’s infrastructure industry in building strategic projects for a greener future in mobility in Europe.”
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