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
Mendel Pass Mendel Pass The Mendel Pass ( or , , or ) is a 1,362 metre-high mountain pass between the provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol in Italy. The pass is accessed by the pass road, which begins in the town of Fondo in the Non Valley and ends southwest of the city of Bolzano, and the Mendel Funicular, which connects the Überetsch plateau with the pass. The pass road, SS 42, has a maximum grade of 12%, but is relatively straight. It is open year-round, but trailers are prohibited. The pass road was built between 1880 and 1885, and the