Milan–Chiasso railway

The Milano–Chiasso railway line is an Italian state-owned railway connecting Milan to Como and Chiasso, Switzerland.

It is electrified at 3000 volts DC. Between Milan and Monza it has four tracks and is used not only by trains operating to and from Como, but also by freight and passenger trains connecting Milan with Bergamo and Lecco, either directly or routed via Molteno. North of Monza it has two tracks, but between the junction "Bivio Rosales" and Chiasso there is a parallel double track line (used mainly by freight trains) including Monte Olimpino 2 tunnel (7207 m).

Legend 0.00 Gotthardbahn 0.00 Chiasso 230 MSL Italy/Switzerland Border Monte Olimpino 2 (7209 m) and Monte Olimpino 1 (1919 m) tunnels Link to Lake Como (dismantled) 5.00 Como San Giovanni Milan–Como line (FNM) Connection to Como Camerlata FNM line (dismantled) 10.00 Albate–Camerlata To Lecco Rosales Junction 14.00 Cucciago 255 MSL 17.00 Cantù-Cermenate 248 MSL 20.00 Carimate 238 MSL 24.00 Camnago-Lentate 217 MSL To Seveso and Milano Cadorna line (FNM) Milan–Asso line (FNM) FNM goods line from Saronno 30.00 Seregno 207 MSL To Carnate and Bergamo 33.00 Desio 200 MSL 35.00 Lissone-Muggiò 195 MSL From Lecco via Carnate, Bergamo and Lecco via Molteno 39.00 Monza 160 MSL Milan north ring road Autostrada A4—European route E64 45.00 Sesto San Giovanni 135 MSL Milano Greco Pirelli Tunnel Garibaldi Milano Porta Garibaldi—Milano Centrale

History

The first section of the line is the Milan–Monza line, which was opened by the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia (part of the Austrian Empire) as the Imperiale Regno Privilegiata Strada Ferrata da Milano a Monza ("Imperial United Privileged Railway from Milan to Monza") on 18 August 1840, the second railway opened in Italy after the Naples–Portici railway line.^[1] The government originally intended to permit the line to be extended to Bergamo,^[2] but had intended that a separate concession be granted for a line from Milan to Como. Instead, it decided to scale down the project by allowing the Monza line to be extended to Como.^[3] On 10 October 1849 line was opened from Monza to Camnago in Lentate sul Seveso and it was extended to Camerlata on 6 December.^[1] The line was completed to Como in 1875.^[4] It was part of the Società per le strade ferrate dell'Alta Italia (Upper Italian Railways) from 1865, the Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo (Mediterranean Railway Company) from 1885 and Ferrovie dello Stato from 1905.

Services

Since 14 December 2008 suburban services on this line between Como and Milano Porta Garibaldi have been operated hourly by Trenitalia as line S11 of the Milan Suburban Railway Network. From 12 December 2004 regional passenger trains had been operated by TiLo ("Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia", a joint venture of Ferrovie dello Stato and Swiss Federal Railways).^[5] Line S9 operates between Seregno and Milano San Cristoforo via the ring railway. Camnago-Lentate station is the northern terminus of line S4, using the Camnago–Seveso link of the Milan–Asso line, and provides a link to Milan Cadorna station and the lines of Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM). There are some peak hours trains without a regular interval timetable. In 2006 integrated ticketing and subscriptions allowing travel using a single ticket on trains of both LeNord (FNM passenger services) and TiLo were introduced to facilitate rail traffic between Brianza and Milan.

The line is also used by long-distance Eurocity trains to and from Basel and Zurich.

The line is used by many railway companies to transport goods to and from Switzerland and northern Europe.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Kalla-Bishop 1971, p. 20
2. ^ Zaninelli 1995, p. 85
3. ^ Zaninelli 1995, p. 87
4. ^ Zaninelli 1995, p. 87
5. ^ Today's Railways 2009, p. 7

References

• D'Amia, Giovanna (2004), "Il collegamento ferroviario tra Milano e Como nell'età della restaurazione e le prime stazioni milanesi (The rail link between Milan and Como in the age of the restoration and the first stations in Milan)", in Godoli, Enzo (in Italian), Architettura ferroviaria in Italia. Ottocento (Railway architecture in Italy, 19th century), Dario Flaccovio editore, ISBN 8877585994 
• Kalla-Bishop, P. M. (1971), Italian Railways, Newton Abbott, Devon, England: David & Charles, pp. 208 
• Zaninelli, Sergio (1995) (in Italian), Le ferrovie in Lombardia tra Ottocento e Novecento (The railways of Lombardy in the 19th and 20th centuries), Milan: Edizioni Il Polifilo, ISBN 88-7050-195-7 
• "Trenitialia reduces role in TILO", Today's Railways (Sheffield, England) (157), January 2009