Brenner Base Tunnel breakthrough connects Austria and Italy

A major milestone has been reached in the Brenner Base Tunnel project, one of Europe’s largest infrastructure undertakings. The massive tunnel-boring machine named ‘Wilma’ successfully connected the two excavation teams from the Austrian and Italian sides after 706 days of continuous operation. The breakthrough occurred approximately 1,408 meters below the Geigenspitze mountain.

The project, managed by BBT SE, aims to create a 55-kilometer continuous rail line through the Alps, stretching from Innsbruck in the west to Fortezza in South Tyrol. Once completed, the tunnel is expected to transform north-south rail transport across Europe by allowing trains to travel on a nearly flat route under the mountains rather than over steep Alpine passes.

The tunnel is designed to alleviate significant environmental and logistical issues in the region, such as heavy truck traffic, noise, and air pollution in Alpine valleys, by shifting a substantial portion of freight transport from roads to railways.