These are the questions for the new SBB trains to Italy

SBB announced the launch of a new route to Italy last week. As a result, travelers won't be able to reach their destinations faster, and the all-important connections won't arrive until 2027 at the earliest.

Stefan Erbar/ch media

The guest list revealed important innovations: SBB passenger transport chief Véronique Stephan and Trenitalia boss Luigi Corradi were in Milan last Friday to present a new contract that takes cooperation between the national railways to a new level. In addition to new trains, there are also new lines.

Another daily train is planned to run from Zurich to Venice from the end of 2025, meaning that the line will have two trains per day. Bookings for these trains are very good and bring in high revenue. The journey times are also attractive: a continuous trip to Venice on an SBB Eurocity train only requires a split connecting time to the high-speed train in Milan.

In addition, SBB also announced the launch of new direct routes from Zurich to Florence and Livorno. However, the “new” properties only partially apply, as these are extensions of existing Eurocity routes from Zurich to Bologna or from Zurich to Genoa. SBB will confirm this upon request. The first extends to Florence and the second to Livorno.

change faster

However, new connections are slow. Currently, direct trains from Zurich to Bologna take nearly 6 hours. If you choose a connecting flight in Milan, the journey time will be reduced by one hour. The jet lag may increase as we continue to Florence.

Currently, direct trains from Zurich to Bologna take nearly 6 hours.Image: trapezoid

Following the changes, the route to Florence now takes just five and a half hours. However, Swiss Girono trains used for direct trains are not allowed to run on Italian high-speed lines with design speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. The maximum speed allowed in Italy is only 200 kilometers per hour.

Therefore, between Bologna and Florence, trains will have to take a different route and will therefore be delayed by at least another half hour, meaning that a journey from Zurich to Florence on a direct Eurocity train will take around an hour and a half longer than Changes in Milan. This makes it only of interest to tourists who are not under time pressure. When asked, SBB said the exact route had not yet been determined.

When does the train arrive in Rome?

The situation looks better in the direction of Genoa: the entire route of the direct train takes only a quarter of an hour longer than the fastest transfer train. Also, this train should speed up, just like the train to Venice. The SBB has initiated a plan to allow Giruno trains to Venice and Genoa to travel at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour in the future. That’s what spokesperson Sabrina Schellenberg said. There is no specific date.

What is certain is that the Giruno train will not be the most desired transfer option for SBB and passengers. “It’s an open secret that we would very much like to offer direct flights from Zurich to Rome,” Véronique Stephan recently told Tages-Anzeiger. However, high-speed railways lack rolling stock and have high line utilization rates.

Frecciarossa trains from Trenitalia cannot travel to Switzerland. But this will also change: starting in spring 2026, the company will receive new ingredients that will also receive Swiss approval. Flights from Zurich to Rome will only be available from the 2027 timetable at the earliest. As CH Media reported a year ago, SBB is making corresponding considerations.

SBB wants to go to Turin

People familiar with the planning also learned that SBB hopes to launch a direct train from Zurich to Turin. However, there are still many unanswered questions in this area, which is why the beginning of this connection is not yet defined.

It is worth noting that the expansion focuses on the connection from Zurich via the Gotthard axis. However, on the Simplon axis from Basel via Bern, the frequency of services to and from Milan has even been reduced in recent years to the point where there are currently three trains to and from Milan on weekdays and four trains on weekends.

For destinations outside Milan, future expansion is likely to focus on Zurich's Gotthard axis. On the one hand, the city is a larger target and source market than Bern, but on the other hand it is also a better transit point for much of German-speaking Switzerland. For travelers departing from Basel, the speed to Italy via Zurich is currently about the same as via the Simplon axis or Lucerne.

On the other hand, after Milan, when the long-term expansion of Italian freight traffic comes to an end, the offer from Basel via Bern and Brig is likely to expand again. According to current information, this will not happen until 2028 at the earliest. (aargauerzeitung.ch)

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