Brenner Base Tunnel: 218 of 230 tunnel kilometres completed

At roughly 55 km (about 230 km including exploratory and rescue tunnels), the Brenner Base Tunnel will become the world's longest underground rail tunnel, linking Innsbruck (Austria) with Fortezza/Franzensfeste (Italy) beneath the Alps. Per the official project website, about 218 of the 230 tunnel kilometers are already completed, with seven construction lots still active; total costs are estimated at EUR 10.5 billion, of which the EU currently co-finances 50%. Commissioning had previously been planned for 2032 (position before the update of 20 Oct 2026: see below). Update (4 August 2026): Italy's CIPESS committee authorised the start of the fifth construction lot at a total cost of EUR 456.77 million and set the project's new spending ceiling at about EUR 10.5 billion, of which roughly EUR 5.262 billion is the Italian share (about EUR 5.75 million below the figure set in CIPESS decision no. 37/2023). The works programme, with commissioning in October 2032, was confirmed. Update (25 Aug 2026): On 28 July 2026 the two main tunnel tubes broke through beneath the state border at the Brenner, when the Austrian drive in lot H53 Pfons–Brenner met Italian lot H61 Mauls 2–3. On 25 August 2026 the tunnel boring machine Wilma completed the western main tube over its full length of about 55 km for the first time. As of 28 July 2026, the project company said 220 of the 230 tunnel kilometres had been driven (114 km of them main tunnel); Wilma and Olga were then the two machines still at work, and once their drives are finished all tubes will be continuous. (LOK Report, 28 Jul and 25 Aug 2026) Merged (7 Oct 2026): The separately recorded entry 68bbddde on the Tulfes–Pfons construction lot has been folded into this one; according to it this section was completed in October 2025, and the tunnel is expected to shift about 1 million truck journeys a year to rail. Update (20 Oct 2026): After updating its construction programme, the tunnel company BBT SE postpones commissioning from 2032 to 2034 and now puts total costs at €11.7bn instead of €10.5bn; Austria and Italy each guarantee 50% of it, i.e. €5.85bn. It cites adapting the 2008 railway-systems design to new technology and safety rules, additional structures needed to turn the exploratory tunnel into a service tunnel, the longer construction period and price increases; the supervisory board has approved the new dates and costs. The date is a placeholder (end of 2034); no specific month was given. (news.at/APA, 20 Oct 2026; Der Standard, 20 Oct 2026)