High-Speed Rail, Tunnels, Bridge to Shrink Europe

A hydraulic rock drill broke open a tunnel connecting Austria to Italy nearly 4,600 feet beneath the Alps on Thursday, a milestone in a series of major European Union projects that will accelerate passenger train travel between metropolitan centers and shift freight off the roads and onto rails. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker attended the ceremonial breakthrough of the final meter of rock to open the first tunnel beneath the Brenner Pass, a key junction in an EU rail project that will one day run from Helsinki to Palermo, the AP reports. "In the end, there is no project that is too big to be tackled, there is no project too big for us to bet on,'' Meloni told the gathering.

The impacts: The Brenner Base Tunnel, which will be the longest underground rail tunnel in the world, is among four infrastructure projects that promise to reshape how Italians travel and ship goods by the early 2030s, while bringing Europe closer together. Tunnels will cut travel times between Verona and Munich by more than half to 2½ hours, between Milan and Paris by at least 30% to 4½ hours, and put the Ligurian port city of Genoa within commuting distance of Italy's finance and fashion capital—significantly remaking the Europe transit map. The boldest of them all, the Straits of Messina Bridge, will finally link the Italian mainland with Sicily, a project first envisioned by the ancient Romans. The projects also aim to reduce truck traffic on highways—with the biggest impact expected on the Brenner Pass, which is traversed by more than 2.5 million trucks annually; the crucial brings Italian automotive components and small machinery north. The Brenner Base Tunnel aims to shift up to half the heavy road traffic to rail. Officials touted the environmental benefits on Thursday. By reducing road congestion, "air quality will improve, noise will diminish and C02 emission will fall," said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the European commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism.

The four projects are:

• Brenner Base tunnel: The longest underground rail tunnel in the world will run for 34 miles between Tulfes, Austria, and Fortezza, Italy, extending to nearly 40 miles with existing tunnels from Tulfes to Innsbruck. It's projected to cost nearly $10.5 billion and be completed by 2031. The project, launched in 2007, is co-funded by Italy, Austria, and the EU.
• Tortona-Genoa high-speed rail line: The 33-mile line connecting the port city of Genoa with Tortona in Piedmont, with links to Milan, has 23 miles of tunnels. It aims to shift the transport of goods from the Ligurian port cities of Genoa, La Spezia, and Savona to northern Europe from road to rail beginning next year, increasing to 50% by 2050. Passenger train travel time between Milan and Genoa will be cut to about an hour from more than 1½ hours. The cost is $10 billion, and the tunnels are 90% complete. Started in 2012, the project was slowed by the geology of the Apennine range, including the discovery of natural asbestos.

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• Lyon-Turin line: The $13 billion tunnel extends more than 40 miles, with nearly 36 miles of the Mont Cenis base tunnel running underground between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, France, and Susa, Italy. It's expected to be completed around 2033. The project aims to remove more than 1 million heavy goods vehicles from roads in the western Alps between France and Italy. Passenger travel time between Paris and Milan, Europe's third-largest metropolitan area, will be reduced to 4½ hours from 6½-7½ hours. The project, launched in 2007, was slowed significantly by environmental protests on the Italian side. It's co-funded by France, Italy, and the EU.
• Strait of Messina Bridge: The $16 billion project, scheduled to be completed by 2032, will speed travel between the Italian mainland and Sicily and incorporate rail connections to Palermo and Catania, which are being upgraded. The single-span bridge itself will connect Messina, Sicily, and Villa San Giovanni, Calabria, with six car lanes and two rail lines. The government is awaiting final approval by the court of audits to launch preliminary work.