Brenner Railway, Railway line in Tyrol and Trentino-South Tyrol, Italy
The Brenner Railway is a train line that runs from Innsbruck through the Wipptal valley, crosses the Brenner Pass, and descends through the Eisacktal valley to Bolzano and Verona. The route spans several hundred kilometers and passes through mountainous terrain with numerous tunnels and bridges to handle the steep slopes.
Construction occurred in stages, with the Verona-Bolzano section opening in 1853 and the Bolzano-Innsbruck section completed in 1867. The railway became an important transportation route connecting the Alpine region across borders during the industrial era.
The railway represents a significant engineering achievement as the first complete railway route across the Alps in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
At Brenner station, trains must change locomotives because Austria and Italy use different electrical systems. The station sits at about 1,372 meters in elevation and serves as the key transition point between the two countries.
The line features specialized spiral tunnels that allow trains to gain or lose elevation safely while navigating steep Alpine slopes. These tunnels represent clever 19th-century engineering solutions designed to manage dramatic height changes.
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