The Brenner Base Tunnel - a new link through the Alps

4 Lively railway traffic through the station at Fortezza. Passenger and freight traffic was already quite remarkable in 1900. Source: Collection Verkehrsarchiv Tirol A SB 34 steam locomotive at Brenner station, put into service in 1867 – at the time, it was the heaviest and strongest locomotive in Austria. Source: Collection Verkehrsarchiv Tirol Rail and roadways About a hundred years later, the highway was built. Since 1974, the Brenner Pass can be crossed using the Austrian A13 and the Italian A22 highways. Once these roads were completed, 10 million tons of goods were freighted yearly over the Brenner. In 2008, the volume of freight touched the 50 million ton mark. After a drop in heavy traffic due to the economic crisis in 2009, the volume of freight has continued to increase anew.