Brenner Base Tunnel
Isarco River Underpass section
Start of works
October 2014
Progress status
80%
Data updated to September 2021
SDG Obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile
Climate action
Industry innovation and infrastructure
The southern end of the railway that connects Munich to Verona
The Brenner Base Tunnel is at the heart of the new Brenner railway link from Munich to Verona. Once completed, it will be, at 64 kilometres long, the longest underground railway connection in the world.
The Isarco Underpass lot is the southernmost part of the Brenner Base Tunnel before entering the Fortezza station. It is located one kilometer north of the town of Fortezza, in Prà di Sopra, in the province of Bolzano.
The section will include civil works for the two main tunnels for a total length of roughly 4.5 km, as well as two interconnecting tunnels for a total length of 1.7 km that connect with the existing railway line.
Construction will be extremely complex from a technical point of view: both the main tunnels and the interconnecting tunnels will pass under the Isarco River, the A22 motorway, the SS12 motorway and the Verona-Brenner railway line with minimal leeway. Webuild has started using a special application to allow workers to excavate a tunnel under the Isarco River safely and sustainably without having to divert the natural course of the river. The Group is overseeing the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze the ground along the tunnels being excavated for the underpass: by freezing the ground, workers can proceed with the excavation of the tunnels without being hindered by water infiltration.
Technical data
East inteconnection (m)
2,150
West inteconnection (m)
3,783
Connection tunnels' total length (m)
1,700
Supply chain: 918 companies from all over Italy involved in the Isarco River Underpass Section
Nearly 1,000 businesses at work with Webuild longest underground railway connection in the world.
Sustainability
Sustainable KPIs
Reduction of travel times
69%
Passenger expected per year
293,000
C02 emissions avoided per year
2,800 t
Innovation
A safe underpass due to liquid nitrogen
Construction will be extremely complex from a technical point of view: both the main tunnels and the interconnecting tunnels will pass under the Isarco River, the A22 motorway, the SS12 motorway and the Verona-Brenner railway line with minimal leeway.
Webuild has started using a special application to allow workers to excavate a tunnel under the Isarco River safely and sustainably without having to divert the natural course of the river.
The Group is overseeing the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze the ground along the tunnels being excavated for the underpass: by freezing the ground, workers can proceed with the excavation of the tunnels without being hindered by water infiltration.
Multimedia
Brenner Base Tunnel
Webuild Project
Brenner Base Tunnel
Isarco river uderpass - freezing operations
