Europe Builds Record Rail Tunnels Under Alps and Baltic Sea

Construction crews are finishing several long rail tunnels designed to replace older, steeper routes through the Alps and to connect Denmark with Germany under the Baltic Sea. The 35-mile Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland opened in 2016 and cut travel time between Zurich and Milan to two and a half hours.

Two other base tunnels are under way: the Brenner Base Tunnel linking Austria and Italy, scheduled for 2032, and the Semmering Base Tunnel in Austria, due in 2030.

9 billion, nearly double the original estimate. When finished, the 34-mile twin tunnels will shorten the Innsbruck-Bolzano trip from two hours to 50 minutes. The 17-mile Semmering Base Tunnel will create a faster route from Vienna to Graz and Villach and on to Italy and Slovenia.

Denmark is also building a combined road-rail tunnel under the Baltic Sea to Germany, due for completion in the early 2030s. The link is intended to shorten journeys between Copenhagen, Hamburg and Berlin. A separate proposal would place a 50-mile tunnel under the Gulf of Finland between Helsinki and Tallinn.

January the European Court of Auditors reported that costs for eight major Trans-European Transport Network projects rose 82 percent above initial estimates and that five projects face average delays of 17 years. The European Union had set a 2030 target for completing the core network of 10,850 miles of upgraded rail corridors.

Nick Brooks, secretary general of rail operator lobby group ALLRAIL, said the Brenner Base Tunnel, Lyon-Turin link and Fehmarn Belt projects can be game-changers for European rail.