MILAN (AP) — Workers will begin drilling and blasting open the first tunnel connecting Austria to Italy under the Brenner Pass through the Alps on Thursday, marking a major milestone in a series of ambitious European Union projects that will accelerate passenger train travel between metropolitan centers and shift freight off the roads and onto rails.

The Brenner Base Tunnel, which is being billed as the longest underground rail tunnel in the world when completed, is among four key infrastructure projects that promise to reshape how Italians travel and ship goods by the early 2030s.

Tunnels will cut travel times between Verona and Munich by 40% to three hours, between Milan and Paris by at least 30% to 4 1/2 hours and put the Ligurian port city of Genoa within commuting distance of Italy’

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