Brenner Nordzulauf rail link in Germany faces construction delay

The Brenner Nordzulauf, a key component of the trans‑Alpine rail corridor linking Munich with Verona via Innsbruck, remains unstarted on the German side. Intended to complement the Brenner Base Tunnel and shift roughly 2.5 million truck journeys per year from road to rail, the project was agreed in 2012 and the route fixed in 2022. Six planning sections have been defined, but strong local opposition around Rosenheim, organized by citizen initiatives such as the Nordzulauf Kolbermoor group, has stalled any work. The German Federal Ministry of Transport plans to bring the proposal to parliamentary consideration in the first half of 2026, yet no formal bill has been presented, and further legal challenges could follow. Consequently, a construction start date cannot be projected, delaying the anticipated benefits of faster freight and passenger services across Germany, Austria and Italy.