Webuild has started excavation works on the Gardena tunnel, part of the Brenner Base Tunnel, with the launch of the TBM “Kathrin” on the Fortezza–Ponte Gardena section.
The project, carried out for Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, will help transform freight and passenger transport between Italy and Central Europe and represents one of the most significant Alpine railway investments in Europe.
The Gardena tunnel forms part of the southern access expansion to the Brenner Base Tunnel and is located in the Trentino-Alto Adige (South Tyrol) region in north-eastern Italy, near the borders with Austria and Switzerland.
The launch of the TBM “Kathrin” follows the completion of the Funes exploratory gallery, a 650-metre access tunnel providing entry into the mountain massif. The machine, measuring 144 metres in length and equipped with a cutterhead nearly 10 metres in diameter, will excavate the two main tubes of the Gardena Tunnel, as well as the connecting tunnels to the future Ponte Gardena station.
Overall, the project includes the excavation of more than 16 km of tunnels and the installation of approximately 9,000 precast concrete segments.
Parallel works continue for the new Brenner rail connection
The Fortezza–Ponte Gardena section is being built by a consortium led by Webuild, together with Implenia and SELI Overseas, the Italian group’s tunnelling specialist subsidiary.
The new railway line represents the first section of the quadrupling of the southern access route between Munich and Verona and will be built almost entirely underground. The project includes a total of 52 km of tunnels designed to reduce the gradients of the existing line while enabling higher speeds and greater freight transport capacity.
TBM “Kathrin” was designed for complex geological conditions and is a “dual mode” machine capable of alternating between hard rock excavation and unstable ground conditions. This technology has already been successfully tested during the crossing beneath the Brenner motorway, without disrupting road traffic.
The machine is also equipped with energy-saving solutions, including highly efficient motors and cooling water recovery systems, allowing energy consumption to be reduced by 20–25 per cent compared with conventional TBMs.
While the TBM continues advancing, works are also progressing in other areas of the project. At the Forch cavern, preparations are underway for the excavation of the 15 km-long Scaleres Tunnel, while at the Chiusa access gallery, 1,400 metres out of the planned 1,800 metres have already been completed.
The project also includes the construction of a 250-metre viaduct over the Isarco River, as well as the modernisation of Ponte Gardena station.
Webuild is involved in several sections of the Brenner Base Tunnel system in both Italy and Austria, with the group constructing approximately 50 km of tunnels as part of the transalpine railway project.
On the Italian side, the company is working on the Mules 2-3 section, where TBM excavation was completed in May 2025, while in Austria it is involved in the Sill Gorge–Pfons section. Webuild has also already completed the Tulfes–Pfons section and the Isarco underpass.
The entire Brenner system is set to radically transform transalpine transport by reducing journey times and shifting a significant share of freight traffic from road to rail. The Brenner Corridor is regarded as one of the most important transport links between the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
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