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
Brenner Pass Raetia. Via Augusta was completed in 46–47 AD; the route took its course along the Adige valley to the neighbouring Reschen Pass (west of Brenner Pass at above ), then descended into the Inn valley before rising to Fern Pass towards Augsburg. The Roman road that physically crossed over Brenner Pass did not exist until the 2nd century AD. It took the "eastern" route through the Puster Valley and descended into Veldidena (modern-day Wilten), where it crossed the Inn and into Zirl and arrived at Augsburg via Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The Alamanni (Germanic tribe) crossed the Brenner Pass southward into modern-day Italy