Chiasso railway station


Chiasso railway station is a station owned by the Swiss Federal Railways. It serves the town of Chiasso, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, and is also a border station between Switzerland and Italy.
The station is both the southern terminus of the Gotthard railway, and the northern terminus of the Milan–Chiasso railway. It is situated a few metres from the border, and is separated from the Italian city of Como by twin railway tunnels through the Monte Olimpino.

Train movements

Given its location, Chiasso is an important station, not only for the connection between Italy and Switzerland, but also for that between northern and southern Europe. The station is served by the long-distance trains that cross the Gotthard, together with S10 and S40 of the Ticino regional network, and line S11 of the Milan suburban service.
In 2009, there was a reduction in the numbers of train services to the station, which led to the reduction in the numbers of certain jobs. Thanks to numerous complaints raised by various sectors of the political and institutional elements of Ticino, Swiss-Italian EuroCity services have returned to Chiasso since December 2009.
The following services stop at Chiasso:
As the international border station, Chiasso acts as a transmission facility between the two networks. The traction voltages, motors and signalling systems of the two networks are different, and therefore trains passing through the station must change locomotives. The yard tracks are also required to be divided into two parts, connected to the station's central platform by a corridor, where there are also customs offices. Thus, trains for the Italian network start at separate tracks compared to the Swiss network.
With the entry of Switzerland into the Schengen Agreement, border controls have officially been abolished. However, in practice, the Italian Guardia di Finanza and the Swiss Border Guard still perform border checks on selected trains, both at Chiasso station and while the trains are moving between Chiasso and adjacent stations.