About this journey

Chiasso station sits at one of Europe's most compressed border crossings: its eastern platform edge already stands on Italian soil, and the station simultaneously serves as the southern terminus of the SBB Gotthard railway and the northern terminus of the Ferrovia Milano-Chiasso, owned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. Because the Swiss and Italian networks differ in traction voltage, signalling, and motors, trains passing through must change locomotives before continuing — a reminder, visible from the cab, of how two distinct railway systems meet at a single platform.

The Ferrovia Milano-Chiasso was completed to Como in 1875, having been extended in stages from Monza. The line is electrified at 3,000 volts DC, the Italian standard, and carries a dense mix of traffic: between Milan and Monza it runs on four tracks shared with services toward Bergamo and Lecco, narrowing to two tracks north of Monza. A freight bypass, including the 7,207-metre Monte Olimpino 2 tunnel, allows heavy goods trains to avoid the steep gradient through Como. The journey ends at Milano Centrale, opened on 1 July 1931 to replace an earlier station overwhelmed by growing traffic. Its steel platform canopies, designed by Alberto Fava, stretch 341 metres and cover 66,500 square metres — a monumental arrival point that contrasts sharply with the compact, border-straddling station where this cab ride begins.