An important milestone has been reached in the construction of the Brenner Base Tunnel. Under the Brenner Pass, the final rock layers between Austria and Italy have been removed from both future main tunnels.
This means that the Austrian tunnel sections of the Pfons-Brenner construction lot are now connected to the already completed tunnels on the Italian side. The breakthrough occurred approximately 1,400 meters below the Brenner Pass. An exploratory tunnel connecting the two countries had already been opened in September 2025.
However, the breakthrough does not mean that the tunnel is close to opening. Further sections still need to be excavated in the direction of Innsbruck. This will be followed by interior construction and the installation of tracks, overhead lines, signaling technology, and safety systems. Subsequently, the entire facility must be tested and approved.
Commissioning is scheduled for 2032. Until then, the existing Brenner corridor with its inclines and capacity limitations remains critical for freight transport.
The actual base tunnel is 55 kilometers long. Combined with a section of the existing Innsbruck railway bypass, this creates a 64-kilometer-long underground connection. This will establish a largely flat rail route between Innsbruck and Franzensfeste. Freight trains will be able to operate longer and heavier loads than on today's mountain route.
The EU expects that up to 50 million tons of freight per year can eventually be transported through the tunnel. However, whether this volume will actually be achieved depends not only on the tunnel itself. Access routes in Austria, Germany, and Italy, available train slots, terminal capacities, and competitive rail pricing are equally decisive.
For Swiss freight forwarders, the Brenner represents both a complementary and a competing Alpine corridor. Traffic between southern Germany, Austria, and northern Italy could increasingly be routed via the Brenner. For other routes, the Gotthard and Lötschberg corridors remain more economical alternatives.