Dispute to the Brenner-Nordlauf: Politics fails in Rosenheim!

Dispute to the Brenner-Nordlauf: Politics fails in Rosenheim!

On July 19, 2025, the future of the Brenner Base Tunnel is a hotly discussed topic that is important for both Austria and Italy and Germany. The first two countries made significant progress when building the tunnel, while Germany stalled during the burner north. The burner base tunnel, which runs through the Eastern Alps under the Brenner Pass at 55 kilometers, will be one of the longest railway tunnels worldwide after completing it. Only the Gotthard base tunnel in Switzerland will be longer. The project also includes the Inntal tunnel and thus becomes the longest underground rail connection of the world with a total length of 64 kilometers, such as wikipedia

As part of the current developments, both Austria and Italy have largely completed their sections of the tunnel. Austria has completed its part of three quarters while Italy has already started building. Germany, on the other hand, struggles with delays and political disputes in terms of coordination in the Bundestag about the project; It was postponed by spring 2025 to autumn 2025 and possibly even to autumn 2026, such as rosenheim24.de reported.

political deficits and claims

The free voters in Bavaria have already made a clear position and require more transparency and clear information about the burner north. The new Minister of Transport Patrick Schnieder (CDU) is obliged to make up for the previously missed communication and to emphasize the advantages of the project for the Rosenheim region. Critics accuse the former Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing that they have hardly contributed to clarifying the situation. Political communication and persuasion are inadequate in Germany, which annoys many residents and politicians, the local press mentions.

Prejudices against Italy's ability to successfully process large projects lead to misjudgments. It shows that Germany caught up with the Brenner project compared to Italy and Austria. Nevertheless, political support for the project in Germany is not optimal, which is seriously at risk.

technical details and progress

As far as the burner base tunnel and its accessibility are concerned, the planned completions are still in sight. The opening of the tunnel is targeted for 2032. The tunnel should reduce the travel time from Innsbruck to Bolzano from over two hours to less than an hour and thus noticeably improve the rail connection between North and South Tyrol. With a maximum coverage of 1,720 meters, the tunnel will offer considerable goods capacities and shift freight traffic from the road to rail. The project is strongly promoted by the European Union, which underlines the importance of the new connection, such as wikipedia emphasized.

The current construction work that has been going on for more than 20 years shows successes: by 2019, 100 kilometers of a total of 230 kilometers of tunnels had broken out. This shows that there is constant progress, even if the challenges are still great. The security concepts and the planned electrical system for the trains are designed to reach speeds of up to 250 km/h for passenger trains and 160 km/h for freight trains.

summarized the Brenner Base Tunnel not only an architectural masterpiece, but also a symbolic project for European integration and environmental protection. The coming years will show whether the political disputes can be overcome in order to successfully complete the ambitious building project.