An accord to build a new rail link between Italy and Austria under the Brenner Pass was signed in Rome Monday.
Italian, German and Austrian transport ministers, rail chiefs and European Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani signed a memorandum of understanding to build the tunnel, designed to ease road congestion across the pass.
At 56 kilometres, the tunnel will be the second longest rail tunnel in the world, just one km shorter than the Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) being built between Switzerland and Italy.
The Brenner Tunnel, scheduled for completion in 2022, aims to cut train journey times between Innsbruck and Bolzano from 2 hours to 50 minutes.
The GBT, set for completion around 2017, will cut the present 3.5-hour train journey time between Zurich and Milan by an hour.
