Brenner Base Tunnel Main Bores Break Through Beneath the Alps
On July 28, 2026, miners connected the Austrian and Italian sections of the Brenner Base Tunnel 1,400m below the Brenner Pass, achieving the simultaneous breakthrough of both 8.1m diameter main bores as the project reached 90% excavation and kept on track for a 2032 opening.
At 10:35 on July 28, 2026, miners working on the main bores of the Brenner Base Tunnel broke through between the Austrian and Italian sections, with the 8.1m diameter bores meeting 1,400m below the surface near the border.
The breakthrough was not a single tunnel connection but a simultaneous joining of both main running tunnels, as the Austrian excavation of construction lot H53 Pfons-Brenner connected to the already completed main tunnels of Italian lot H61 Mules 2-3.
On the Italian side, tunnel boring machines excavated the main tunnels, while Austria’s section was advanced using conventional drill-and-blast methods. This follows the exploratory tunnel breakthrough achieved in September 2025.
Once complete, the Brenner Base Tunnel will run for 55 km between Innsbruck-Wilten in Austria and Franzensfeste/Fortezza in Italy. Combined with the existing Innsbruck bypass tunnel, the continuous connection will total 64 km — making it the world’s longest underground main line railway link, according to Railway Gazette’s report.
Around 90% of total excavation for the base tunnel project has been completed, with opening expected in early 2032, the same report noted.