To date around 22% of the 230 km of tunnel bores has been completed. Finance for the base tunnel is also secure, with Austria and Italy each contributing 30% of the cost and the European Union the remaining 40%. The rate of progress is now focusing attention on southern Germany and Italy under pressure, as failure to improve the approach routes would jeopardise the success of the project.

Herrmann's commitment will be tested over the coming months as the planned addition of two tracks from München to Kufstein on the Austrian border, either parallel to the existing main line or on a nearby alignment, has already stirred up fierce opposition. Planners hope to reach a consensus on a viable and acceptable route within three years, although planning and construction are expected to take at least another 20 years.

Germany's inability to do major infrastructure projects properly strikes again.

On that subject, on the occasion of the opening of the  Gotthard Base Tunnel, Süddeutsche posted an article titled (translated) What Germans can learn from the Swiss. The long article is more blank amazement at how different things go in Switzerland than in-depth analysis, but it does mention three significant factors: wide consultation at the planning phase, willingness to give something (mitigation measures, parallel projects) to those who don't benefit from the project, and separate funds for project finance instead of dependence on annual central budgets.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}