Construction work has commenced on the €8bn ($11.4bn) Brenner railway tunnel project connecting Austria and Italy, according to Railway Technology.

The 55km tunnel between Innsbruck in Austria and Fortezza in Italy will be connected to an existing 9km underground railway bypass in Innsbruck and is expected to reduce traffic congestion and pollution levels on the Brenner Pass motorway.

The cross-border tunnel will be a low-gradient rail tunnel with two parallel tubes stretching between Innsbruck and Fortezza, which will improve freight and passenger transit between the two regions.

The tunnel will form an important part of the high-capacity rail axis from Berlin to Palermo, which is part of the Trans-European Transport Network.

The project will be funded by Austria and Italy along with a €786m ($1.12b) contribution by the European Union.

The tunnel is scheduled to be completed by 2025.