Train drivers beware! The cross-border route on the Brenner between Austria and Italy will be completely closed for two and a half weeks in August. Extensive work will be carried out in the railway tunnels on the mountain route from August 6 to 23, meaning there is no alternative to a complete closure, ÖBB said on Friday. Local, regional, long-haul and freight traffic will be affected.
During this period, 71 local trains and ten Eurocity trains per day will be used as track replacement services. Only for the Railjet between Innsbruck and Bolzano there is no alternative. There is also a line closure between Bolzano and Trento from August 6 to 11, so buses from Innsbruck to Trento are offered.
The rail replacement service is set up in such a way that every traveler can find a place, emphasized Werner Dilitz, regional manager of the ÖBB local passenger transport.
‘There is no escaping the lockdown’
As Manuel Kieninger, regional manager of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, said: Due to the special conditions of the mountain route and the limited space, there is no possibility to bypass a barrier. Access to the construction site squares is largely only possible by rail. Often there is “a slope on the left and an abyss on the right”. In total, the ÖBB will spend 15 million euros on the work.
Sector driving ban for trucks lifted
Goods traffic is also affected by the closure, as a result of which the roller conveyor (Rola) cannot move. A diversion from Villach via Tarvision has been set up for international freight traffic. In addition, the sectoral driving ban for trucks will be lifted for this period.
The ÖBB emphasized that the procedure had been coordinated in all countries and also with the highway authorities.
Source: Krone
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