Italy-Switzerland, new rail connections also with Tuscany

More trains between Italy and Switzerland. Trenitalia (FS Group) and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) are renewing their long-standing collaboration, further strengthening it with the launch of new cross-border train services. A successful agreement, considering the 30 million passengers already transported between Italy and Switzerland since 2009, when the cooperation between the two railway companies has been active.

In Milan, Luigi Corradi and Véronique Stephan, respectively managing director of Trenitalia and passenger market director of Sbb, signed a new multi-year pact. As part of the renewed agreement, Trenitalia and Sbb intend to offer additional connections in addition to the 40 trains that travel daily between Italy and Switzerland. The two companies are working with the aim of introducing an additional route between Zurich Milan and Venice and new direct trains from Zurich to Florence and Livorno (and vice versa) from 2026.

To support this increase in supply, the Swiss railways ordered four new Giruno electric trains in February 2024, which will be added to the 29 already in circulation today and a further seven ordered in 2022. Says Corradi: 'In 2023 we had more than three million passengers choosing this service of cooperation between Trenitalia and the Swiss railways. We expect growing demand for cross-border connections from Italy to Switzerland and vice versa in the coming years, and we are ready to welcome travellers on newer, even more comfortable and more sustainable trains." Stephan adds: "During 2023 we increased the number of connections to Milan and introduced new direct connections to Genoa and Bologna. We are now focusing on the near future'.

The Milan event was also an opportunity to present the new EuroCity brand and the restyling of Trenitalia's trains, which have been renewed in terms of their interiors, with seats upholstered in fabric made from 100% recycled plastics, services and livery. Among the colours used, which recall the flags of the two countries, green is the distinctive colour of the brand: used for the logo, but also for many other applications inside the cars. Green is also a reminder of the theme of sustainability, since the train is the most sustainable means of travelling to Switzerland. Trenitalia presented a revamped Etr 610 train, which runs as a EuroCity between Switzerland and Italy. From 2026, Trenitalia's entire Etr 610 fleet will be revamped, with a new design, new seat covers made of recycled materials, wi-fi and the installation of sockets for electric bicycles.