Berlin–Palermo railway axis
The Berlin–Palermo railway axis (German: Eisenbahnachse Berlin–Palermo, Italian: Asse ferroviario Berlino-Palermo) is project No. 1 of the Trans-European high-speed rail network (TEN-R), which involves the creation of a 2,200-kilometre-long (1,400 mi) high-speed rail line between Berlin and Palermo.[1][2] It is designated as one of the main transport links connecting Central and Southern Europe, tracking through Germany, Austria and Italy.
Alignment and sections
From Berlin the line will run to the
Germany
The corridor begins at
In the meantime, service is provided by tilting
Further to the south, the corridor runs via the
Austria
The heart of the Austrian section is the
At the Baumkirchen rail hub, new high-speed curves link with the Innsbruck bypass including the Inn Valley tunnel (German: Inntaltunnel), which is already used by freight trains, but still needs to be upgraded for passengers and connected with the existing Lower Inn Valley Railway for trains calling at Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof. The Inn Valley tunnel will connect directly with the future Brenner Base Tunnel (Italian: Galleria di base del Brennero) bypassing the existing Brenner Railway across the Alpine divide up to the southern portal at Fortezza in Alto Adige, Italy. Construction of the main bore on the Austrian side began on 19 March 2015. The combined Inn Valley and Brenner Base tunnels will be the longest railway tunnel in the world (62.8 kilometres (39.0 mi)).
Italy
From the southern portal of the Brenner Base Tunnel at Fortezza, an upgrade of the 189 km (117 mi) long Brenner Railway section to Verona Porta Nuova is planned, bypassing Brixen/Bressanone and Bolzano/Bozen. In the course of several high-speed rail projects, the following lines have been built or significantly upgraded in Italy:
- In 2009 work was completed on duplicating the Verona–Bologna line and upgrading it for 200-kilometre-per-hour (120 mph) speeds, including several deviations.
- The Milan–Bologna high-speed line (215 kilometres (134 mi)) was opened on 13 December 2008.
- The Bologna–Florence high-speed line (78 kilometres (48 mi)) was opened on 13 December 2009.
- The Florence–Rome high-speed line (254 kilometres (158 mi)) was completed on 26 May 1992.
- The Rome–Naples high-speed line was partially opened on 19 December 2005 and completely on 13 December 2009.
- The Naples–Salerno high-speed line was opened in June 2008.
Since the 2000s, a Strait of Messina Bridge to Sicily has been proposed several times. In 2003, the second Berlusconi government announced the construction of a combined rail/road bridge with a length of 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi). The project was halted by a resolution of the Chamber of Deputies in October 2006,[4] resumed upon Berlusconi's re-election in 2008, and again discontinued in March 2013. In March 2023, the Meloni government resumed the project. On the mainland, an upgrade of the 400-kilometre (250 mi) Salerno–Reggio Calabria line is also proposed to increase speeds and capacity. In Sicily, the long railway line from Messina to Catania Centrale and Palermo Centrale is being substantially upgraded to increase speeds and capacity.
EU coordinator
On 20 July 2005, the European Union appointed coordinators for the five major trans-European rail transport projects to accelerate the realisation of these projects. It appointed the Belgian Karel Van Miert to coordinate the Berlin–Palermo rail corridor, who upon his death in June 2009 was succeeded by the Irish Pat Cox.
See also
- Main Line for Europe
- Scandinavian–Mediterranean Corridor
- Helsinki-Valletta Corridor
- Trans-European corridors
- Trans-European Transport Network
References
- ^ "Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T): selection of projects for the TEN-T multi-annual programme 2007-2013 and the annual TEN-T programme 2007" (Press release). European Union. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
- ^ "Map" (PDF). European Union. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
- ^ "Special report: A European high-speed rail network". op.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
- ^ "Anas S.p.A. - Stretto di Messina SpA in liquidazione". Archived from the original on 2014-12-07. Retrieved 2014-12-05.