Webuild completes mechanised excavation on the Italian side of the world’s longest railway tunnel

Excavation work on the Italian side of the Brenner Base Tunnel, the world’s longest railway tunnel, has been completed. The consortium led by Webuild, on behalf of BBT SE – the client company controlled on the Italian side by RFI (FS Italiane Group) through TFB (Tunnel Ferroviario del Brennero) – has finished the excavation of the west main tunnel using the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) “Flavia”. The TBM has bored beneath the Alps for the Mules 2–3 lot, reaching the border with Austria. The east main tunnel was already completed in 2023, and overall progress on Lot Mules 2–3 now stands at over 95%.

Once the Brenner Base Tunnel, the world's longest railway tunnel, is completed, with its 64 km in total, will redesign transport between Italy and Austria, strengthening Europe's sustainable mobility and reducing the environmental impact of transport in the Alpine area. The project work is part of the Munich-Verona railway axis. It also represents a central element of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the TEN-T network, of which it is also the most important section because it allows to go beyond the natural barrier formed by the Alps.

The Tunnel will connect the cities of Fortezza, approximately 50 km north of Bolzano, and Innsbruck in Austria. It is called a “Base” tunnel because it runs beneath the Brenner Pass at its base, at an altitude of approximately 800 meters above sea level. Along its route, passenger trains will be able to travel at speeds of up to 250 km/h, cutting travel time from the current 80 minutes to just 25. The Mules 2-3 Lot, which represents the main section of the Italian side of the Tunnel, is a key component of the project. It involves the excavation of a complex system of 65 km of tunnels, over 40 km of which were bored using TBMs. This section has also seen work by TBM “Virginia”, which completed its journey in March 2023 after finishing the excavation of the eastern main tunnel.

Webuild, a global leader in the construction of sustainable mobility infrastructure, which boasts a track record of almost 3,500 km of tunnels built globally, is also engaged in other lots of the Brenner Base Tunnel. Besides Mules 2-3 Lot, Webuild is also working on the Austrian side of the tunnel, with the Gola del Sill-Pfons Lot, having already completed the Tulfes-Pfons Lot, also located on the Austrian side of the border. The Group has also built the Isarco Underpass, which marks the southernmost point of the Tunnel before reaching the Fortezza station. Moreover, along the Munich-Verona railway axis, Webuild is also working on the project to strengthen the Fortezza-Ponte Gardena section and the Trento Rail bypass. These two initiatives are designed to enhance the infrastructure connecting to the Brenner Base Tunnel, further improving the efficiency and capacity of the overall system.

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