Brenner Railway

The Brenner Railway (German: Brennerbahn; Italian: Ferrovia del Brennero) is a major line connecting the Austrian and Italian railways from Innsbruck to Verona, climbing up the Wipptal (German for "Wipp Valley"), passing over the Brenner Pass, descending down the Eisacktal (German for "Eisack Valley") to Bolzano/Bozen, then further down the Adige Valley to Rovereto/Rofreit, and along the section of the Adige Valley, called in Italian the "Vallagarina", to Verona. This railway line is part of the Line 1 of Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T). It is considered a "fundamental" line by the state railways Ferrovie dello Stato (FS).^[2]

Innsbruck–Bozen–Verona railway
An OBB EuroSprinter with a Eurocity train passes KM 91,5 towards Matrei station.
Overview
Line number	302 02 Austria 42 (Brenner–Bozen) 43 (Bozen–Verona)
Locale	Austria and Italy
Service
Route number	300 (Salzburg Hbf - Brennero/Brenner) 301 (Jenbach - Telfs-Pfaffenhofen / Steinach in Tirol) 50 (Italy)
Technical
Line length	275.4 km (171.1 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius	264 m (866 ft)
Electrification	15 kV 16.7 Hz Austria 3 kV Italy
Operating speed	180 km/h (112 mph)
Maximum incline	north ramp: 2.5% south ramp: 2.25%
Route map Legend km elev (M) or length (m) in metres Lower Inn Valley railway to Kufstein 75.130 Innsbruck  S3   S4  ↓ 582 M Arlberg railway & Mittenwald railway 76.725 Bergisel tunnel 662 m 78.198 Sonnenburg tunnel 249 m 79.646 Innsbruck Hbf 1 junction Innsbruck bypass 80.291 Ahrnwald tunnel 165 m 80.809 Schupfen tunnel 35 m 81.295 Unterberg- Stefansbrücke 716 M 81.648 Unterberg tunnel 49 m 82.662 Patsch tunnel 176 m 83.905 Innsbruck Hbf 2 crossover 84.718 Patsch 784 M 85.403 Schönberg tunnel 89 m 85.726 Mühltal tunnel 872 m 86.936 Moserwiese tunnel 74 m 91.847 Matrei tunnel 124 m 93.281 Matrei am Brenner 995 M 97.884 Steinach in Tirol  S3  ↑ 1,048 M 101.918 St. Jodok 1,141 M 102.427 Sankt Jodok spiral tunnel 480 m 104.323 Stafflach tunnel 283 m 106.189 Gries tunnel 173 m 106.651 Gries am Brenner 1,255 M 106.917 Steinach in Tirol 2 crossover 110.900 Brennersee 1,351 M 111.145 Steinach in Tirol 4 junction track 302 11 111.425 Brennersee Terminal 111.561 ÖBB RFI maintenance border 111.663 240.083 Austria Italy border 239.533 Brennero/Brenner  S4  ↑ 1,371 M 236.200 Brennerbad (former spa) 1,310 M Pflersch tunnel 7.267 m 13.10 Moncucco/Schelleberg 1,242 M Ast spiral tunnel 761 m 226.70 Fleres/Pflersch 1,130 M 222.80 Colle Isarco/Gossensaß 1,100 M Eisack bridge I 217.00 Vipiteno/Sterzing 943 M Campo di Trens/Freienfeld 935 M Palude di Vipiteno bridge 208.90 Mules/Mauls 900 M 204.30 Le Cave/Grasstein 843 M 200.80 Mezzaselva/Mittewald 798 M 197.00 Fortezza/Franzensfeste 747 M 197.00 Puster Valley railway to San Candido/Innichen 192.19 Varna/Vahrn 650 M 188.36 Bressanone/Brixen 577 M Eisack bridge II 184.70 Albès/Albeins 548 M Funes/Villnöß 539 M 178.24 Chiusa/Klausen Grödner Railway 523 M 172.43 Ponte Gardena/Waidbruck 422 M Schlern tunnel 13,159 m Rötele bridge Castelrotto/Kastelruth 428 M Campodazzo/Atzwang 373 M Eisack bridge I tunnel VII 55 m tunnel VI 72 m tunnel V 60 m tunnel IV 62 m tunnel III 79 m tunnel II 57 m Völsersteig/Fiè allo Sciliar 340 M tunnel I 40 m Schlern tunnel 13,159 m 157.99 Prato all'Isarco/Blumau 315 M Kardaun tunnel 3,789 m Prato Tires tunnel 430 m Cardano/Kardaun 283 M Kardaun bridge 150.23 Bolzano/Bozen 266 M Überetsch Railway 148.59 Bolzano–Merano railway [it] to Merano 142.56 Laives/Leifers 230 M 139.29 Bronzolo/Branzoll 227 M 134.17 Ora/Auer 223 M 128.40 Egna/Neumarkt 217 M 124.42 Magrè/Margreid– Cortaccia/Kurtatsch 216 M 118.99 Salorno/Salurn 211 M 111.62 Mezzocorona to Mezzolombardo 110.50 Trento-Malè railway 104.32 Lavis 95.43 Trento goods station 94.79 Trento 93.01 Trento–Venice railway to Venice 87.22 Mattarello 78.91 Calliano ( closed 2004 ) 71.21 Rovereto 66.91 Mori Rovereto–Arco– Riva railway  [it] 60.86 Serravalle 54.68 Ala 50.36 Avio 45.48 Borghetto 40.36 Peri 32.77 Dolcè 22.80 Domegliara–Sant'Ambrogio 16.98 Pescantina 11.65 Verona Parona 6.39 San Massimo junction (PC)[nb 1] Milan–Venice railway to Milan & Verona–Bologna railway to Bologna Adige river 3.37 Verona Porta Nuova 0.00 Verona Porta Vescovo Milan–Venice railway to Venice km   elev (M) or length (m) in metres Source: Italian railway atlas[1] This diagram: view talk edit

Innsbruck station at the north end of the Brenner railway

History

The railway line was designed under the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the mid-19th century to ensure rapid and safe transport between Tyrol and northern Italy, especially Lombardy–Venetia. It was thus strategically important not only for economic but also for military reasons, as Austria was strongly committed to maintaining its borders south of the Alps.

The first section to be built was the lower section between Verona and Bolzano/Bozen. The design of this section was approved on 10 July 1853 by the engineer Alois Negrelli, an employee of the Südbahn, known for having built other Alpine railway lines and for developing a project of the Suez Canal. The section was opened in two different parts: on 23 March 1859 between Verona to Trento/Trient and 16 May 1859 from Trento/Trient to Bolzano/Bozen. This construction was handled by the k.k. Nord- und SüdTiroler Staatsbahn (German: "North and South Tyrol State Railways"), but the company was taken over by the new Austrian Southern Railway (German: Südbahn) at the beginning of 1859.^[3]

Despite the loss of Veneto in the Third Italian War of Independence and its consequent shift of the border between Italy and Austria to Borghetto on the current boundary of Trentino and Verona in October 1866, the upper section from Bolzano/Bozen to Innsbruck was incomplete. The 127-kilometre (79 mi) route from Innsbruck to Bolzano/Bozen took only three years to build. This section had been under construction and was finally opened on 24 August 1867. The main designer and engineer, Karl von Etzel, died in 1865; he was not able to witness the completion of his work. After the Semmering railway, this Brenner Line was the second mountain railway built within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was also the first through line to cross over the Alps.

The section south of Borghetto became part of the Società per le strade ferrate dell'Alta Italia (Italian for Upper (Northern) Italian Railways, SFAI) in 1866.^[4] In the 1885 reorganisation it was absorbed by the Società per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali (Adriatic Network).^[5] The line came under the control of Ferrovie dello Stato upon its establishment in 1905.

In 1919, Italy acquired Trentino-South Tyrol under the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Austro-Italian border moved to Brenner. The section from Trento/Trient to Brenner was subsequently electrified at 3,700 V at three-phase 16.7 Hz between 1929 and 1934.^[6] Electrification was converted to 3,000 V DC on 30 May 1965.

In preparation for the proposed Brenner Base Tunnel, the Innsbruck bypass was completed in 1994 to improve access to the Lower Inn Valley railway. The bypass consists of a 12.75-kilometre (7.92 mi) tunnel (Austria's longest) and aims to remove the bulk of the freight train traffic from Innsbruck. In Italy, several new sections have been built, removing sections of line with several short tunnels with small cross sections. These include the 13,159-metre-long (43,173 ft) Sciliar tunnel opened in 1994, the 7,267-metre-long (23,842 ft) Pflersch tunnel opened in 1999 and the 3,939-metre-long (12,923 ft) Cardano tunnel opened in 1998.

Future

Following a sharp increase in freight traffic through the Brenner Pass (largely on road), the railway is currently considered to have insufficient capacity. Moreover, its steep grades, tight radius bends and the need to change locomotive engines at Brenner due to two different electrical systems as used in Austria and Italy mean that the average travel speed is low. For these reasons, the creation of a new line is planned from Verona to Munich via Innsbruck. At the heart of this project lies a 55-kilometre-long (34 mi) tunnel between Franzensfeste and Innsbruck, known as the Brenner Base Tunnel.^[7]

Route

The maximum grade on the track is 31 per thousand (3.1%). The minimum curve radius is 264 metres (866 ft). The highest point of the track is Brenner station at 1,371 metres (4,498 ft), which is also the highest point reached on the standard gauge networks of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and the Italian Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) networks.

To overcome the steep climb (796 metres (2,612 ft) between Innsbruck and Brenner) two spiral tunnels were built, using the sides of a valley at St. Jodok on the Austrian side and the sides of the Pflerschtal (German for "Pflersch Valley") on the Italian side.

At Brenner station, located on the Brenner Pass (1,371 metres; 4,498 ft), there is a monument to the designer, Karl von Etzel. This station is situated at the border between Italy and Austria and also the operational border between the ÖBB and FS networks. The two companies operate different electrical systems, (15,000 V AC at 16.7 Hz in Austria, and 3,000 V DC in Italy), which requires a stop to change electric locomotives. For this reason, for a long time the operation of express trains from Munich to Verona and Milan was carried out with diesel railcars. Until 30 May 1965 was also needed a second engine change in Bolzano station, as the Bolzano–Brenner section still operated under three-phase AC electrification.

In recent years the introduction of multicurrent rolling stock, which can be run on both the Austrian and Italian networks, has made it possible, at least in principle, to avoid locomotive changes. However, the need for locomotives to carry equipment for different signalling systems and to have safety approvals for different networks and lines, and the need for staff to know operating rules and routes has limited multicurrent operations in practice.

• Trains on the Brenner Railway
• 
  An ÖBB EuroSprinter on the Brenner railway.
• 
  An FS Class E.652 with a train on the Brenner railway.
• 
  An ÖBB Class 1044 with a train on the Brenner railway.
• 
  FS Class E.412 on the Brenner railway.

References

Notes

1. "Posti di comunicazione", i.e. a crossover.

Footnotes

1. Railway Atlas 2017, pp. 3, 8, 9, 23, 24, 136, 137.
2. "Rete FS in esercizio (FS operational network)" (PDF) (in Italian). Ferrovie dello Stato. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
3. Kalla-Bishop 1971, p. 21
4. Kalla-Bishop 1971, p. 41
5. Kalla-Bishop 1971, p. 52
6. Kalla-Bishop 1971, p. 103
7. "The Brenner Base Tunnel". Amministrazione trasparente Galleria di Base del Brennero - Brenner Basistunnel BBT SE. Retrieved 1 January 2016.

Sources

• Facchinelli, L. (1995), La ferrovia Verona–Brennero. Storia della linea e delle stazioni nel territorio (the Verona–Brennero railway, history of the lines and stations in the area) (in Italian), Bolzano: Athesia
• Kalla-Bishop, P. M. (1971), Italian Railways, Newton Abbott, Devon, England: David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-5168-0
• Mori, Edoardo, La ferrovia da Verona a Monaco di Baviera (The railway from Verona to Munich) (in Italian), Calosci Editore
• Tuzza, Alessandro, ed. (1927). "Prospetto cronologico dei tratti di ferrovia aperti all'esercizio dal 1839 al 31 dicembre 1926" (in Italian). Ufficio Centrale di Statistica delle Ferrovie dello Stato/Trenidicarta.it. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
• Atlante ferroviario d'Italia e Slovenia [Railway atlas of Italy and Slovenia]. Schweers + Wall. 2010. ISBN 978-3-89494-129-1.}

See also

• List of railway lines in Italy

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