Circular hike for tunnel freaks

Tunnel construction up close on guided hikes in the Padaster Valley

Once completed, the Brenner Base Tunnel will be the longest railroad tunnel in the world at 64 km, including access routes. Once completed, the Wipptal Valley will be completely tunneled under. Detailed information about what is happening underground can be found in the "Tunnel Worlds", the Brenner Base Tunnel Info Center in Steinach. For all those who would like to take a look at the landfill site for the excavated material from above, the TVB Wipptal offers weekly guided landfill hikes in the Padastertal.

Amor Roland, hiking guide and tour leader as well as a native of Steinach, has acquired a great deal of knowledge about the "Brenner Base Tunnel" project. Every Tuesday, he is happy to pass on his knowledge to interested guests and locals on a guided circular hike lasting around 4 hours (including breaks and photo stops). The meeting point is at 09:30 at Steinach train station. After a short informative walk along the Schlurnweg, which runs parallel to the Brenner railroad line, Roland and his group will continue through the district of Siegreith to the Wendelinkapelle chapel, where the circular landfill trail starts. The hike covers a total of approx. 360 meters in altitude, and hiking poles are recommended, especially for the first part (free rental at the Steinach information office).

A short visit to the chapel of St. Wendelin is a must for Roland. The chapel was built by BBT-SE using excavated material from the tunnel construction. This was Bündner slate, which was used in the exposed stone-concrete construction method. The interior of the chapel is kept very simple. In addition to the wooden altar, two images of saints are worth seeing, that of St. Wendelin and a 17th century image of the Virgin Mary. Both works come from the original 19th century chapel, which stood in the Padastertal valley and had to be demolished due to construction work.

The first 20 minutes of the hike are a little steeper up to a metal platform, from where you have a perfect view of the landfill site and the surrounding mountains. After passing a few information boards about the construction project and receiving additional information from Roland Amor, the hike continues into the Padastertal valley after the landfill view. The narrow path runs through woodland and on sloping terrain in places. Good footwear and sure-footedness are an absolute must here. After about 1 1/2 hours of walking, the path leads to the opposite side of the valley and finally through a 300 m long tunnel, where it is very fresh and almost dark - so don't forget a jacket, even in midsummer. The terrain then becomes gentler and you walk through meadows and sparse forest slightly downhill out of the valley to the starting point of the tour.

The Padastertal, an unpopulated, heavily wooded valley with alpine pastures at the head of the valley, is ideally suited to accommodate the excavated rock from the Brenner Base Tunnel. The valley floor is thus "raised" by several meters in height, whereby very strict nature conservation regulations regarding water drainage must be observed. Once the tunnel excavation material has been deposited, the Padastertal will have a different appearance than before - the valley will be wider and higher. The alpine pasture area at the end of the valley will not be affected by the construction work.

Tip: If you want to delve deeper into tunnel construction, you can visit the Tunnel Worlds in Steinach and there are also guided tours of the construction site tunnel for groups. More information here.