About this journey

Ventimiglia station, opened at the end of 1871 and renamed Ventimiglia International station in 1882, stands as one of the more technically intricate border stations in Europe. The station is electrified at 1.5 kV DC — a reduced voltage that requires Italian trains to operate at half power within the station area — while the broader Italian network runs at 3 kV DC and the Marseille line at 25 kV 50 Hz AC. Managing three electrification systems across a single interchange demands careful coordination between Italian and French railway operations.

The route north follows the Ferrovia Cuneo–Ventimiglia, climbing inland from the Ligurian coast through the Roya valley before the landscape opens toward the Piedmontese plain approaching Cuneo. The FS ALe 501 Minuetto, an Alstom-built multiple unit, works the full crossing between the two countries on this journey. Cuneo station, inaugurated on 7 November 1937 by Italy's Communications Minister Antonio Stefano Benni, serves as the junction of four converging railways: the Fossano–Cuneo, Savigliano–Cuneo, Cuneo–Ventimiglia, and Cuneo–Mondovì lines. Where Ventimiglia's identity is shaped by the demands of a coastal border crossing, Cuneo's station reflects the role of a regional inland hub drawing lines in from every direction.