Several thousand people gathered at the Brenner Pass on Saturday to protest against the growing amount of traffic using the transport corridor, which links northern and southern Europe.
Demonstrators in the Austrian town of Matrei am Brenner carried signs reading “Enough is enough” and “Peace in the valley,” while calling for measures to reduce the adverse effects of heavy traffic on residents’ health and well-being.
Some protesters also criticized the delayed planning of the rail access line in Germany’s southern state of Bavaria, which is intended to relieve congestion on the motorway.
Karl Mühlsteiger, the mayor of the nearby municipality of Gries am Brenner, called the number of demonstrators “sensational.”
Authorities in Austria and Italy have temporarily closed the Brenner corridor to through traffic on both sides of the border.
So far, however, no major traffic disruption has been reported. Motorists were urged to avoid non-essential travel because of the planned protest.
However, a fire on a railway line north of Verona in Italy disrupted train services along the Brenner corridor, with authorities still unclear as to the cause.
The Brenner corridor is expected to remain closed on the Austrian side of the border until 7 p.m. (1700 GMT). On the Italian side, restrictions are in force until 8 p.m.
Among other things, the Brenner Pass is often used by holidaymakers from Germany wanting to vacation in southern European countries such as Italy.
According to motorway operator Asfinag, nearly 11 million cars and around 2.5 million trucks used the toll motorway in 2025, making it the busiest link from north to south in the Alps.
