Brussels, 24/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - The company charged with elaborating the Brenner Base tunnel project, BBT SE (Brenner Base Tunnel Societas Europeae) presented an encouraging state of advancement on 22 June to representatives of the Member States and regions concerned (Tyrol, Trentino Upper Adige, Bavaria), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Commission at a coordination meeting in Brussels. The definition phase should be completed in 2006, and the results of traffic and charging studies should be sent in a few months. There are plans to draw up an overall financing and concession model, and the tunnel should be in service by 2015.
The Italy-Austria intergovernmental commission will make a decision by September on the performance of a “pilot tunnel”, a project which particularly interests the Commission because it will enable better use to be made of geological data to reduce the risks in the construction phase and to better evaluate the costs. The Commission, who would like drilling to begin as soon as possible (probably in mid-2006) could contribute up to 50% of costs. It has already transferred 40 million euros to finance studies and preparatory work for the tunnel construction, which it is co-financing up to 50% under the trans-European transport networks. The Brenner Base tunnel, which will be 56 km long, is a key element of the Priority Project no1 (the railway axis Berlin-Verona/Milan-Bologna-Naples-Messina-Palermo) and should considerably increase trans-alpine rail freight traffic.