Entry area shift - Brenner: DB aims to overcome paralysis with upcoming strategy.
After enduring political delays, Deutsche Bahn hopes to advance their plans for the German route to the Brenner Base Tunnel in the Alps by year's end. The upcoming step is to present the route option prepared by DB to the Bundestag and the Federal Ministry of Transport, according to Klaus-Dieter Josel, the soon-to-depart DB Group representative in Bavaria. "We aim to finalize these documents by the end of the year and submit them to the Bundestag in spring 2025."
This 55-kilometer-long Austrian-Italian tunnel may eventually speed up the slow trans-German-Italian rail service and relieve the exhaust fumes, noise, constant traffic jams, and sluggish movement that have plagued the residents of the Brenner Pass in North and South Tyrol for many years. The desperate residents aren't the only ones suffering - truck drivers and holidaymakers in Italy also grumble about their circumstances. The impact of the Brenner Pass is not confined to the Alps; with goods and passengers connecting to Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, and the Netherlands, it plays a significant role on an international scale.
In 1998, approximately 1.2 million trucks traversed the pass. In 2023, Asfinag, the Austrian freeway company, counted double that number at the Schönberg toll station - 2.4 million trucks. In total, the Brenner highway recorded almost 14.4 million vehicles.
The Brenner Pass occupied a prominent role in transalpine trade prior to the Middle Ages, and its significance remains today: the pass serves as the cheapest Alpine crossing for freight companies. "The northern approach of the Brenner is part of the vital European Scan-Med axis between Scandinavia and the Mediterranean," says Josel. "It's vital that we keep this route." Trains currently take over five hours between Munich and Verona; the planned future distance would bring it down to three hours.
The base tunnel bypasses German territory, but to fully utilize its capacity, the "approach" needs expansion. The existing route, established in the royal Bavarian era, follows a 160-year-old line from Rosenheim through the Inn Valley to the Tyrolean border.
DB envisions a new 54-kilometer route that veers away from villages. Roughly 30 kilometers of this route will be constructed as tunnels. This has not satisfied the local citizens' initiatives. "Let's modernize existing infrastructure instead of damaging the environment" is the motto of the Brenner Dialogue initiative.
These opponents are not rallying against the railway but instead want to improve freight transport and boost regional transit. The proponents of the new construction assert that the current route should have been modernized years ago. "The delay is not the responsibility of the public," proposes Brennerdialog board member Lothar Thaler.
Resistance to new construction is also evident in Austria and Italy, though both countries have progressed further. "The routes for the overall southern approach have been finalized," explains Martin Ausserdorfer from the Brenner Base Tunnel Observatory in South Tyrol, who oversees construction monitoring on behalf of the provincial government and municipalities. "The most crucial section recently commenced construction."
On the German side, "We're engaging in intensive planning discussions, and it seems that acceptance has increased," says Josel. "We anticipate receiving the necessary permits in the early 2030s followed by construction shortly after. Commissioning is expected in the early 2040s."
There's still room for hope that the planning deadline isn't too late. "The current trains on the existing route are quite short and often require multiple locomotives. In the Brenner Base Tunnel, trains of up to 740 meters in length can travel with a higher loading capacity. The volume of goods transported will increase, but gradually," assures Josel.
Alternative proposals from Bavarian municipalities will also be presented to the Bundestag. The primary point of debate concerns whether the Inn should be bridged or tunneled. "A tunnel beneath the Inn would cost at least one billion euros more and potentially up to three billion more, dependent on the route," claims Josel.
The target date of 2040 presupposes no considerable delays. Thirty years ago, the CSU passionately advocated for expansion, but their enthusiasm has drastically dwindled. In 2004, Austria and Italy agreed to build the tunnel. In 2009, Peter Ramsauer became the first of four consecutive CSU politicians to assume the Federal Ministry of Transport, and in 2012, Berlin and Vienna consented to collaborate on planning the access route.
Nevertheless, Alexander Dobrindt, who took over from Ramsauer, reassured the people's initiatives in 2017 that he would evaluate the necessity of a new route. In Munich, Hubert Aiwanger from the CSU party's coalition partner, the Free Voters, entered the state government in 2018 and also opposes the route locally. The statement made in the coalition agreement at that time read, "In the case of the Brenner access route, the necessity of a new route must first be shown." The current version in the 2023 edition: "We will keep working to make sure the northern approach for the Brenner is easily accessible for locals."
Dissatisfaction with politics is increasing in the Bavarian economy, and the frustration is not only aimed at Berlin. "For years, both road and rail traffic have been working at full capacity, resulting in high economic losses due to traffic jams and congestion," complains the Munich and Upper Bavaria Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Any additional time loss must be averted.
Vienna's events are being closely monitored. "By 2040 at the latest, the corridor needs to have four tracks to handle the predicted volumes efficiently," states a representative from the Austrian Ministry of Transport.
The Bavarian-Austrian rail line's route planning is being closely observed by the "Brenner Dialogue" citizens' initiative in Rosenheim (opponents of a new route). Austrian authorities are also considering strategies to redirect truck traffic away from the Brenner Pass.
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Source: www.stern.de