Priority Project 1

 PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The railway axis Berlin-Verona/Milan-Bologna-Naples-Messina-Palermo is an important high capacity north south rail axis crossing the Alps along the Brenner Corridor. Traversing Germany, Austria and Italy, the axis will link up their important urban areas and deliver an important increase in transport capacity. This will allow a modal shift from road to rail in the sensitive mountainous regions it crosses.    

The core of the Berlin-Palermo rail axis is constituted by the Brenner Corridor section. Located between Munich-Innsbruck-Bolzano-Trento-Verona, this section comprises the 55 km long cross-border Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT), which starts at Fortezza and joins up with the existing Innsbruck bypass - thus creating a 62.5 km long underground tunnel link, and the northern and southern access routes. Studies have been undertaken to prepare the construction of this central section. The 41 km Lower Inn Valley route between Kundl and Baumkirchen, which is part of the northern access to the Brenner Base Tunnel, is expected to become operational by 2012. Currently, 95% of the civil engineering works have been completed.

Mr Pat Cox, nominated in June 2010, carries on the progress made by his predecessor, the late Mr Karel van Miert.