Naked railway protest

Austrian women have taken their clothes off in protest against the building of a railway tunnel south of Vienna. Countryside protection organisation “Alliance for Nature” has bought out a scantily clad calendar in efforts to prevent the building of the Semmering base tunnel.

The historical Semmering mountain railway was built in 1854 and since 1998 has been a UNESCO world heritage site. Since the mid-1990s there have been plans to develop the new tunnel in order to reduce journey times. Protestors fear that these new developments will threaten the countryside around the Dresden Elbe Valley and even the world heritage title.

Women from the “Alliance for Nature” have made their feelings for the tunnel quite clear in posing against the backdrop of their much loved historic railway in the calendar. The calendar also contains facts about the railway itself and is available to buy online for 19.90 Euros. The women’s efforts appear to have gone unnoticed however and the building works will begin in the second half of 2012.