When building a tunnel, the breakthrough is one of the special moments. In the Brenner Base Tunnel project, this happy breakthrough event took place on September 17th in the Sill Gorge. To the cheers of the miners, the first main tunnel in the Austrian project area was broken through using an excavator and chisel at 1:30 p.m.
The miners dug around 2.4 km of tunnel using classic blasting in the main east-north tunnel of the “H41 Sillschlucht – Pfons” construction section in the direction of Innsbruck. This tunnel section is now connected to the “H21 Sillschlucht” construction lot.
Board members of BBT SE, Martin Gradnitzer and Gilberto Cardola: “Today another important project step for the Brenner Base Tunnel took place. There is intensive work on all construction sites in both Italy and Austria. Therefore, our special thanks go to the miners and engineers who are pushing the tunnel a little further every day.” At the beginning of the breakthrough ceremony, there was a minute’s silence to remember the surveyor who died in an accident in March.
Rene Zumtobel, State Council for Transport and Environment: “With today’s breakthrough, the state capital and thus Innsbruck Central Station, as the most important mobility hub in western Austria, will be connected to the Brenner Base Tunnel. The many tunnel breakthroughs along the 64 kilometer long underground route as a whole represent a breakthrough for European rail transport In the future, massive traffic relief for the population and the environment will be another step closer to halving the travel time from Innsbruck to Bolzano.”
Innsbruck’s mayor Johannes Anzengruber: “The breakthrough on Innsbruck soil is also a historic moment. This is a project of the century that is extremely important for Innsbruck.”
Minister of Transport and tunnel sponsor for the construction lot H41 Sillschlucht – Pfons, Leonore Gewessler Greetings sent: “The Brenner Base Tunnel is a project of great importance. With the longest underground railway connection in the world, the future of European mobility is being created here between Austria and Italy: fast, by rail and climate-friendly. Big thanks to the miners who are digging this future into the mountain. This is a technical masterpiece and it fills me with great pride – especially as a tunnel sponsor.”
The ceremony took place in the approximately 130 meter long main east tunnel in Viller Berg. This tunnel area contains the northern main portal of the Brenner Base Tunnel. Coming from Innsbruck main station, passenger trains travel in this tube towards Italy.
The Brenner Base Tunnel is a tunnel system with a total of more
than 220 kilometers of tunnels, of which 178 kilometers have already been completed.
In addition to the two main tunnel tubes for railway traffic, the system also includes evacuation tunnels, access tunnels, safety tunnels and cross passages.
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