Brenner Railway bypass was completed in 1994 to improve access to the Lower Inn Valley railway. The bypass consists of a 12.75-kilometre 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 Sciliar tunnel opened in 1994, the 7.267-metre long Pflersch tunnel opened in 1999 and the 3,939-metre long Cardano tunnel opened in 1998. Following a sharp increase in freight traffic through the Brenner Pass (largely on road), the railway is
Mike Brenner Train, then a duo with Brenner and songwriter and guitarist Jon Houlon. This band remains viable today and includes drummer Mark Schreiber, bassist Steve Demarest, mandolinist Bill Fergusson and electric/steel guitarist Mark Tucker. Around this time, Brenner also played lap steel with NYC country duo Y'ALL. Brenner played dobro on the first disc by Philadelphia band Marah, "Let's Cut The Crap and Hook Up Later Tonight," and shortly thereafter joined as a touring member of this band, primarily playing lap steel guitar. He wound up recording tracks on their lauded 2nd disc "Kids In Philly" and touring the US and