The 11BN Tunnel Connecting Scandinavia to the Mediterranean

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To solve the problem, the EU is now digging an $11BN tunnel directly through the very heart of the mountains to effectively connect Scandinavia with the Mediterranean.

Sitting 1,371 metres above sea level, the Brenner Pass is the lowest passage through the Alps and can be used all year round.

In 1867 the Brenner railway was built to improve capacity and by the 1970s it was joined by the E45 motorway creating a major freight thoroughfare for traffic heading from the North Sea down to the Mediterranean and vice versa.

Today the Brenner Pass carries 40% of all freight over the Alps, but due to the steep inclines and the impact that has on reducing the speed of trains - over two-thirds of freight actually travels by road.

This, combined with the leisure market in the region made the area notorious for traffic jams, noise and poor air quality - and in 1994 the EU decided to take action.

Modifying the existing railways is pretty impractical due to the terrain, so the decision was made to construct an entirely new railway tunnel directly through the mountains - somewhat dramatically getting around those steep inclines and meandering routes that slow trains down.

Starting at Innsbruck in Austria and connecting to Fortezza in Italy the main route of the Brenner Base Tunnel will run for 55 kilometres. When connected to the Innsbruck bypass tunnels built in 1994 the project will become the longest underground rail connection in the world, with a total length of 64 kilometres - surpassing even the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland.

The overall project consists of an exploratory tunnel - used to gauge the route’s ground conditions prior to construction and to act as a drainage system on completion, twin main tunnels set 70 metres apart which will carry trains in either direction and four lateral access tunnels that connect to the surface and allow for spoil and materials to be moved in and out.