During complete closure of the pass Suspected sabotage partially paralyzes rail traffic on the Brenner Pass
The Brenner Pass is closed to transit traffic due to a protest action. At the same time, suspected sabotage on a railroad line near Verona is causing massive delays.
30.05.2026, 11:58
30.05.2026, 13:51
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- The Brenner Pass is completely closed due to a protest action against transit traffic. The closure affects the highway and secondary routes until the evening.
- In addition, rail traffic was severely disrupted by a suspected deliberate fire at a railroad facility near Verona. Some trains were delayed by almost two hours and individual connections were canceled.
- At the pass itself, the atmosphere is calm and unusually relaxed. Instead of heavy traffic, the scene is dominated by cyclists, free parking spaces and busy cafés.
The complete closure of the Brenner Pass to transit traffic has been in force since 11.00 am. The closure lasts until 19.00 on the Austrian side and until 20.00 on the Italian side. It applies to the Brenner highway and all secondary routes. The reason for the closure is a protest action on the Brenner highway. Residents of the region want to demonstrate there against the flood of traffic. The authorities had called on travelers in advance to avoid driving if possible and use public transport.
However, there has been considerable disruption to rail traffic during the ongoing lockdown. According to the Italian rail company Trenitalia, the rail infrastructure in the province of Verona was damaged by unknown perpetrators.
Train connections on the north-south axis through the Alps were severely disrupted as a result. Early on Saturday, a fire broke out near Domegliara station north of Verona. According to the railroad company, however, it was a presumably deliberate act in which a technical system on the railroad line caught fire and was damaged. The impact on rail traffic along the transalpine route was considerable, reported Trenitalia. Investigations into the background to the incident and the identity of the alleged perpetrators are ongoing.
Sabotage on the Italian rail network is not uncommon
High-speed trains, intercity trains and regional trains suffered considerable delays in some cases. According to Trenitalia, travel times were extended by up to almost two hours. Regional trains were also shortened or canceled altogether. Replacement buses were used for individual connections.
Sabotage on the Italian rail network is not uncommon. On February 7, the day after the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games, sabotage was carried out on the network in the Bologna area, which led to considerable problems throughout the entire northern Italian rail network. Anarchist groups had claimed responsibility for this.
Relaxed mood at the pass
Meanwhile, the mood at the pass is relaxed. The atmosphere is almost surreal. There is peace and quiet where cars usually roll through the town. Music can be heard from the bars.
Zsuzsanna Kornyik's whole face is beaming. She has rarely enjoyed her work so much. "It's very pleasant. Otherwise I often have to wait a long time before I can serve the guests on the other side of the road," says the 48-year-old, who has been running bars on the pass for 20 years. Normally, car after car rushes past her café on the Brenner Pass.
On this Saturday, everything is different. In the small community, which is often visited for its shopping center, there are plenty of free parking spaces. And the café is almost exclusively occupied by cyclists who have conquered the 1370-metre-high pass and are relaxing with a cappuccino.
Several thousand people have gathered for the demonstration in Matrei. Participants in the event carried signs with slogans such as "Enough is enough!" and "Peace in the valley!".
"It's sensational," said protest initiator Karl Mühlsteiger about the number of demonstrators. "This will go down in the history of Tyrol today," said Mühlsteiger, who is mayor of the nearby municipality of Gries am Brenner.
Some of the signs also criticized the delayed planning of the rail access route in Bavaria, which is intended to relieve the freeway once the Brenner Base Tunnel has been completed.
