ÖBB signs off on new rail tunnelling works on Brenner Base Tunnel approach
ÖBB-Infrastruktur green lit plans for the construction of 2.6-kilometres worth of shafts and tunnels on the new Unterinntal line last week. The railway also serves to upgrade the northern approach to the Brenner Base Tunnel. Work on the new tunnel will begin later this year.
The Unterinntal line is a new, 20.5-kilometre-long section of double tracks between Schaftenau and Radfeld. The line includes a 14.4-kilometre tunnel. It is part of the route towards the Brenner Base Tunnel, some 70 kilometres away from the construction site near Angath. There, preparatory works will continue through 2025, which also includes a 110-metre test section of the tunnel. The main tunnel works will be carried out between 2026 and 2034, when the Unterinntal line is slated for commissioning.
Once completed, the new railway can accommodate trains with a maximum length of 750 metres of passenger trains travelling up to 230 kilometres per hour. It will also allow trains in the Wörgl area that do not stop at the local train station, to bypass that area. This will mean less noise complaints and night and free up track capacity during the day.
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