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Construction of Alpine Brenner Pass tunnel launched

18 April 2011, 19:04 CET
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Construction of Alpine Brenner Pass tunnel launched

Siim Kallas - Photo EC

(INNSBRUCK) - European transport officials Monday marked the launch of the main phase of building a rail tunnel at the Alpine Brenner Pass between Austria and Italy after financing was secured.

EU Transport Commissioner Siim Callas and the Austrian and Italian transport ministers, Doris Bures and Altero Matteoli, along with several local officials gathered in Innsbruck to celebrate the start of Europe's most ambitious infrastructure project.

The 55-kilometre (34-mile) long tunnel through the Alps is expected to be completed by 2025.

The railway corridor between Innsbruck in Austria and Franzansfeste in Italy is being financed by the two countries along with the European Union for an estimated cost of 9.7 billion euros (13.8 billion dollars).

The EU has pledged some 768 million euros to 2014, with the amount of a further grant to be determined later.

However, Austria's ecological party die Gruenen has called the project "a waste of billions of euros."

It has noted in particular the lack of guarantees for the construction of rail lines connecting the tunnel to Verona in Italy and Munich in Germany.


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