Abstract
Economic development in the European Community has encouraged an ever- increasing flow of freight transport across the Alps in the last 30 years. This disproportionate growth of road goods traffic trough Austria has led to unacceptable nuisance levels for local inhabitants near these transit routes. The predicted doubling of the volume of road goods traffic between Italy and Austria between the years 1980 and 2000 has prompted the Austrian government's decision to intervene on behalf of the population affected. A working group was established to encourage the expansion of the Brenner railway into high- capacity major transport systems.