About this journey

Cuneo station sits at the convergence of four railways — the Fossano–Cuneo, Savigliano–Cuneo, Cuneo–Mondovì, and the Cuneo–Ventimiglia line that this journey follows. The station itself opened on 7 November 1937, inaugurated by Communications Minister Antonio Stefano Benni alongside the new replacement line through the city.

The Cuneo–Ventimiglia line is one of the more demanding rail corridors in the Italian Alps, crossing the Maritime Alps before descending toward the Ligurian coast. Services are operated by Trenitalia under the broader Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane group, with the FS ALn 501 Minuetto diesel multiple unit well suited to a route of this character.

Ventimiglia station, where the journey ends, has its own layered history: it opened at the end of 1871 and was renamed Ventimiglia International station in 1882, when a new glass-roofed passenger building was constructed over the tracks. The station sits approximately 9 kilometres from the French border and serves as the terminus of three distinct routes — the Genoa–Ventimiglia, Cuneo–Ventimiglia, and Marseille–Ventimiglia lines. French SNCF TER services from Grasse, Cannes, Nice, and Monaco continue to call here, reflecting the station's role as a genuine international interchange. The contrast between Cuneo's alpine inland setting and Ventimiglia's coastal border position gives this two-and-a-half-hour run its defining character.