Deutsche Bahn Plans Billion-Euro Buffer for Brenner Northern Approach – Total Costs Around 16 Billion Euros

Deutsche Bahn assumes, however, that the immense buffer for the Brenner northern approach will not be needed in full. "Es sei das Ziel, den Puffer nicht auszunutzen, project manager Neumaier stressed. Accordingly, the company has set the possible inflation rate very high at up to ten percent.

Significance for Alpine Traffic

The Brenner Base Tunnel and the associated approach routes in Bavaria, Tyrol, and Italy are intended to replace the over 150-year-old, curving route across the Alps and shorten the travel time from Germany to Italy by about two hours. Without a new feeder route, the capacity of the tunnel cannot be utilized.

The Alpine crossing including the Brenner northern approach is part of the so-called Scan-Med Corridor from Scandinavia to Italy. One of Deutsche Bahn's largest new-build projects is therefore to be realized with EU funding.

Timeline and Cost Development to Date

Tunneling work began in 2015; trains are to run through the tunnel from 2032 onwards. By then, the approach routes on both the German and Austrian sides must be completed so that the new line can achieve its full impact.

Most recently in 2021, Deutsche Bahn had estimated the possible costs at nearly eight billion euros. Rail and other major projects generally end up more expensive than planned – a circumstance also exemplified by Stuttgart 21.

Next Steps in the Bundestag

The total costs of Stuttgart 21 have risen from an original three billion to 14.5 billion euros. Most recently, the company had to postpone the commissioning of the new central station in Stuttgart once again, this time to 2031.

The Federal Ministry of Transport intends to submit Deutsche Bahn's planning documents for the route, along with the associated ministerial report and an assessment by the Federal Railway Authority, to the Bundestag as soon as possible. Only after parliamentary deliberation can the project be formally advanced.

The billion-euro buffer is intended to prevent cost increases such as those seen with Stuttgart 21 from impacting the federal budget in the same way with the Brenner northern approach. The final sum will therefore only be determined after the conclusion of parliamentary deliberations.