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)
LocaleAustria and Italy
Service
Route number
  • 300 (Salzburg Hbf - Brennero/Brenner)
  • 301 (Jenbach - Telfs-Pfaffenhofen / Steinach in Tirol)
  • 50 (Italy)
Technical
Line length275.4 km (171.1 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius264 m (866 ft)
Electrification
  • 15 kV 16.7 Hz Austria
  • 3 kV Italy
Operating speed180 km/h (112 mph)
Maximum incline
  • north ramp: 2.5%
  • south ramp: 2.25%
Route map

Map of the Brenner railway

elev (M)
or length (m)
in metres
75.130
Innsbruck
 S3   S4  ↓
582 M
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
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
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
523 M
172.43
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
148.59
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
110.50
104.32
Lavis
95.43
Trento goods station
94.79
Trento
93.01
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]
Adige river
3.37
Verona Porta Nuova
0.00
Verona Porta Vescovo


 
elev (M)
or length (m)
in metres
Source: Italian railway atlas[1]
Innsbruck station at the north end of the Brenner railway

History

edit

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

edit

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

edit

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.

References

edit

Notes

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

Footnotes

edit
  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

edit
  • 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

edit


46°18′26″N 11°14′51″E / 46.30722°N 11.24750°E / 46.30722; 11.24750