Brenner Base Tunnel Pollution from this traffic is a major concern. The hope is to relieve this situation by greatly improving the railway connection between North Tyrol and South Tyrol with the new tunnel, which will allow trains to cross the Alps much faster. Currently, speeds in the Brenner region barely exceed due to the steepness of the existing tracks, which cross the pass at an elevation of 1,371 metres above sea level. The travel time from Innsbruck to Bolzano will be reduced from 2 hours to 50 minutes. The project is funded by Austria and Italy, and a contribution by the European
Brenner Pass Counts of Tyrol within the Holy Roman Empire. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa made frequent uses of the Brenner Pass to cross the Alps during his imperial expeditions of Italy. The 12th-century Brenner Pass was a trackway for mule trains and carts. Modernisation of Brenner Pass started in 1777, when a carriage road was laid out at the behest of Empress Maria Theresa. Modernisation further took place under the Austrian Empire and the Brenner Railway, which was completed in stages from 1853 to 1867. It became the first trans-Alpine railway without a major tunnel and at high altitude (crossing Brenner Pass at