A diagram of the Brenner Base Tunnel – credit BBT SE CC 4.0. BY SA
In mid-September, a boring machine defeated the last meter of rock 4,500 feet under the Brenner Pass in the Alps to connect the world’s longest tunnel dug for railroad track.
Envisioned as an important connecting vein that will one day see trains running from Helsinki, Finland, to Palermo, Sicily, it will slash commuter times across Europe.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker were present when the tunnel was completed, which is hoped to shift large amounts of freight onto rails and off the roads in Italy’s crowded north.
The Brenner Pass Tunnel is one of a series of EU railroad projects that the bloc hopes will reshape travel and freight maps by seriously incentivizing rail travel between Italy and the surrounding countries.
The Benner Tunnel will run from Austria’s town of Tulfes through Innsbruck to the region of Trentino Alto Adige, and will reduce rail commutes between Munich and Verona by two-and-a-half hours.
The second consists of tunnels and high speed rail that will connect Genoa, one of Italy’s largest port cities, with Milano via the city of Tortona, while another running through Valle d’Aosta will reduce the transit time between fashion capitals Milan and Paris by 30%, with stops in Lyon and Susa.
ITALIAN NEWS: Soccer Team from George Clooney’s Holiday Town Donates Tournament Winnings to Flood Relief
“In the end, there is no project that is too big to be tackled, there is no project too big for us to bet on,” Meloni said at the ceremony.
A diagram of the Brenner Base Tunnel – credit BBT SE CC 4.0. BY SA
Lagging somewhat compared to peer nations, Italy’s railroads haven’t seen a major upgrade since the Roma-Milano high speed line in 2008, and these works should allow goods and passengers to flow much more freely in and around the country.
MORE BIG INFRASTRUCTURE: Sicily Will be Reachable Via World’s Longest Suspension Bridge That Italians Have Wanted for Centuries
In particular, AP reports, the Brenner Pass sees more than $800 billion in goods cross the alps on board trucks every year. The tunnel will be the world’s longest rail tunnel, and will take thousands of the more than 2 million trucks that cross the pass every year off the roads.
It currently takes 7 hours to get from Milano to Paris, and the Lyon-Turin High Speed Line is estimated to reduce that down to four-and-a-half. All are expected to be finished in the early 2030s, with the Genoa-Tortona line already almost completed.
GET some quick facts in this company highlights video…
SHARE These Dramatic Infrastructure Improvements To The Boot Of Europe…