For the first time, Italia and Austria are linked by an underground tunnel bored beneath the Alps. After many years of intensive work on both sides, miners in the Brenner Base Tunnel are celebrating a historic milestone. In construction section H53 Pfons–Brenner, on the Austrian side, at dawn on Tuesday 28 July 2026, the final rock face gives way: dust billows up, light streams through the new openings and, at that very moment, a new chapter in the history of the Fortezza–Innsbruck Base Tunnel is written. Moments later, the miners and project managers enter the tunnel section on the other side of the national border, shaking hands with their Italian colleagues.
With the breakthrough of this diaphragm wall, the Austrian tunnel section of construction lot H53 Pfons–Brenner has now been connected to the main tunnels of the Italian lot H61 Mules 2–3, which had already been completed. At a depth of around 1,400 metres beneath the Brenner Pass, two new cross-border links between Austria and Italia have thus been created. The national border in the heart of the Brenner has once again been crossed: following the breakthrough in the exploratory tunnel on 18 September, Austria and Italia are now also linked via the two main railway tunnels.
Two excavation methods
This milestone not only marks the completion of two tunnel sections, but also brings together two construction sites that have been carried out independently of one another for several years: the Austrian construction lot H53 Pfons-Brennero and the Italian lot H61 Mules 2-3. Two different tunnelling methods were used to achieve this milestone. On the Italian side, the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) Virginia and Flavia mechanically excavated the two main tunnels right up to the national border. On the Austrian side, however, the tunnelling was carried out using traditional methods, involving blasting. Today’s breakthrough therefore not only connects two countries and two construction sites, but also two tried-and-tested methods of tunnel excavation.
This significant milestone therefore represents much more than a mere engineering achievement. It symbolises the close collaboration between two countries, engineering excellence and the tireless commitment of all those involved in the project, who are bringing this railway project to fruition with skill and passion.
For the two members of the Management Board of BBT (Brenner Basiltunnel), Martin Gradnitzer and Umberto Lebruto, 28 July therefore marks one of the most important milestones in the history of the Brenner Base Tunnel project: “With the joining of the two main tunnels of the BBT,” the two executives explain, “our project has reached a crucial stage. In future, freight and passenger trains will pass through here between Austria and Italia. This success is a remarkable demonstration of what can be achieved when people work across borders towards a common goal. The project has many names, but above all it bears the mark of the people who built it, day after day.”