The Italian railway system is one of the most important parts of the

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

of Italy, with a total length of of which active lines are . The network has recently grown with the construction of the new high-speed rail network. Italy is a member of the

International Union of Railways The International Union of Railways (, UIC) is an international rail transport industry body based in Paris. History The railways of Europe had originated during the nineteenth century as many separate concerns across numerous nations; this le ...

(UIC). The UIC Country Code for Italy is 83.

The network

'' RFI'' (''Rete Ferroviaria Italiana'', Italian Rail Network), a state owned infrastructure manager which administers most of the Italian rail infrastructure. The Italian railway system has a length of , of which

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

. The active lines are , of which are double tracks. Italy has 2,507 people and 12.46 km² per kilometre of rail track, giving Italy the world's 13th-largest rail network.Compare List of countries by rail transport network size. Lines are divided into 3 categories: *''fundamental lines'' (''fondamentali''), which have high traffic and good infrastructure quality, comprise all the main lines between major cities throughout the country. Fundamental lines are long; *''complementary lines'' (''complementari''), which have less traffic and are responsible for connecting medium or small regional centres. Most of these lines are single track and some are not electrified; *''node lines'' (''di nodo''), which link complementary and fundamental lines near metropolitan areas for a total . Most of the Italian network is electrified (). The electric system is 3 kV DC on conventional lines and

25 kV AC Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...

on high-speed lines. A major part of the Italian rail network is managed and operated by '' RFI'' (''Rete Ferroviaria Italiana'', Italian Rail Network). Other regional agencies, mostly owned by public entities such as regional governments, operate on the Italian network. Travellers who often make use of the railway during their stay in Italy might use

rail pass A rail pass is a transit pass, pass that covers the cost of train travel in a certain designated area or areas within a certain period of time. It is contrasted to a point-to-point ticket in that it allows the holder unlimited travel, within the p ...

es, such as the European

Interrail The Interrail Pass is a rail pass available to European citizens and residents. Citizens of other countries residing outside Europe may purchase the Eurail Pass instead. Types of Interrail Pass include the Interrail Global Pass and the Interrail ...

Eurail The Eurail Pass, introduced in 1959 and formerly known as Europass or Eurorail Pass, is a rail pass which permits travel through 33 European countries on nearly all railroads and several shipping lines. The Eurail Group, based in Utrecht, is re ...

passes or Italy's national and regional passes. These rail passes allow travellers the freedom to use regional trains during the validity period, but all high-speed and intercity trains require up to a 15-euro reservation fee. Regional passes, such as "Io viaggio ovunque Lombardia", offer one-day, multiple-day and monthly periods of validity. There are also saver passes for adults, who travel as a group, with savings up to 20%. Foreign travellers should purchase these passes in advance so that the passes can be delivered by post prior to the trip. When using the rail passes, the date of travel needs to be filled in before boarding the trains. Companies certified to run railways in Italy are: ;From 2000 *

Ferrovie dello Stato Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. (; ; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the initialism FS) is Italy's national state-owned enterprise, state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estate service ...

S.p. A. *

Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...

S.p. A. ;From 2001 *

Metronapoli Metronapoli SpA was an Italian company responsible for the provision of public transport in the city of Naples, and its primary function was the operation and maintenance of the Naples Metro system. It was founded on 26 July 2000 and became opera ...

S.p. A. *

Ferrovie Nord Milano 450px, Map of the main branch of the FNM lines. FNM operates also the Edolo.html" ;"title="Brescia-Edolo">Brescia-Edolo railway in eastern Lombardy, not shown in map. Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM S.p.A.) is an Italian public transport company: the ...

Esercizio S.p. A. * Rail Traction Company S.p. A. ;From 2002 * Del Fungo Giera Servizi Ferroviari S.p. A. * Gruppo Torinese Trasporti S.p. A.(ex SATTI) * SERFER Servizi Ferroviari S.r.l. * Hupac S.p. A. ;From 2003 * Ferrovie Emilia Romagna S.r.l. * La Ferroviaria Italiana S.p. A. * Cargo Nord S.r.l. * Ferrovie Adriatico Sangritana S.r.l. * Sistemi Territoriali S.p. A. * Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo S.r.l. * Swiss Rail Cargo Italy S.r.l. ;From 2004 * SBB Cargo Italia S.r.l. * Ferrovie Nord Cargo S.r.l. * Azienda Consorziale Trasporti di Reggio Emilia * Ferrovia Alifana e Benevento Napoli S.r.l. *

Trasporti S.r.l. ;From 2005 * Trasporto Ferroviario Toscano S.p. A. (La Ferroviaria Italiana S.p. A.) * Ferrovie Centrali Umbre S.r.l. * Railion Italia S.r.l. (ex S.F.M.) * Rail One S.p. A. * Azienda Trasporti Collettivi e Mobilità S.p. A. * A.T.C. Bologna S.p. A. * Monferail S.r.l. ;From 2006 * SAD - Trasporto Locale S.p.A. * Nord Cargo S.r.l. (ex Ferrovie Nord Cargo S.r.l.) * Arenaways S.p.A.

History

The first line to be built on the peninsula was the Naples–Portici line, in the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

, which was long and was inaugurated on 3 October 1839, nine years after the world's first "modern" inter-city railway, the

Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It ...

. The following year the firm Holzhammer of

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

was granted the "Imperial-Royal privilege" to build the Milano–Monza line (), the second railway built in Italy, in the then

Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" (; ), was a constituent land (crown land) of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866. It was created in 1815 by resolution of the Congress of Vienna in recogniti ...

, a part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. After the creation of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

in 1861, a project was started to build a network from the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, in order to connect the country. After unification, construction of new lines was boosted: in 1875, with the completion of the section

Orte Orte is a town, ''comune'', former Catholic bishopric and Latin titular see in the province of Viterbo, in the central Italian region of Lazio, located about north of Rome and about east of Viterbo. Geography Orte is situated in the Tiber V ...

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

, the direct Florence–Rome line was completed, reducing the travel time of the former route passing through

Foligno Foligno (; Central Italian, Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennine Mountains, Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clit ...

-Terontola. Private companies were definitively bought back by the Italian state on 1 July 1905, with the creation of the

(State Railways), or FFSS, with a total of of lines, of which it already owned . The move was completed the following year with the acquisition of the remaining SFM network: by then FFSS possessed of lines, of which with double tracks. The period from 1922 to 1939 was heavy with important construction and modernisation programmes for the Italian railways, which also incorporated from the ''Ferrovie Reali Sarde'' of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. The most important programme was that of the Rome–Naples and Bologna–Florence ''direttissimas'' ("very direct lines"): the first reduced the travel time from the two cities by an hour and a half; the second, announced proudly as "constructing

Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

", included the second longest tunnel in the world at the time, under the Appenines. Electrification on 3,000 V direct current was introduced, which later supplanted the existing three-phase system. Other improvements included automatic blocks, light signals, construction of numerous main stations ( Milan Central, Napoli Mergellina, Roma Ostiense and others) and other technical modernisations. The first high-speed train was the Italian ETR 200, which in July 1939 went from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

at , with a top speed of . With this service, the railway was able to compete with the upcoming aeroplanes. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

stopped these services. After World War II, Italy started to repair the damaged railways and built nearly of new tracks. Entire lines were out of action and much of the rolling stock was destroyed. Thanks to the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...

, in the following years they could be rebuilt, although the possibility of reorganizing the network was missed due to short-sighted policies. The main

Battipaglia Battipaglia () is a municipality (''comune'') in the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of southern Italy. The town is renowned for its production of buffalo mozzarella and is one of the most productive agricultural centers in the Sele ...

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

line (running along the west coast) was doubled, while a program of updating of infrastructures, superstructures, services, colour-light signalling and cars was updated or extended. The three-phase lines were gradually turned into standard 3,000 V dc lines. Increasing numbers of steam locomotives were replaced by electric or diesel ones; in the 1960s also the first unified passenger cars appeared and the first attempts of interoperability with foreign companies were started, culminating in the creation of Trans Europe Express services. Nowadays the

rail tracks Railway track ( and UIC terminology) or railroad track (), also known as permanent way () or "P way" ( and Indian English), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers ( railroad ties in American ...

and infrastructure are managed by

Rete Ferroviaria Italiana Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) is the Italian railway infrastructure manager, subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS), a state-owned holding company. RFI is the owner of Italy's railway network, it provides signalling, maintenance an ...

(RFI), while the train and the passenger section is managed mostly by

. Both are

(FS) subsidiaries, once the only train operator in Italy.

High-speed rail

The Italian high-speed service began in 1938 with an electric-multiple-unit ETR 200, designed for , between Bologna and Naples. It too reached in commercial service, and achieved a world mean speed record of between Florence and Milan in 1938. High-speed trains were developed during the 1960s. E444 locomotives were the first standard locomotives capable of top speed of , while an ALe 601

electrical multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

(EMU) reached a speed of during a test. Other EMUs, such as the ETR 220, ETR 250 and ETR 300, were also updated for speeds up to . The braking systems of cars were updated to match the increased travelling speeds. On 25 June 1970, work was started on the Rome–Florence ''Direttissima'', the first high-speed line in Italy and in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. It included the bridge on the Paglia river, then the longest in Europe. Works were completed in the early 1990s. In 1975, a program for a widespread updating of the rolling stock was launched. However, as it was decided to put more emphasis on local traffic, this caused a shifting of resources from the ongoing high-speed projects, with their subsequent slowing or, in some cases, total abandonment. Therefore, 160 E.656 electric and 35 D.345 locomotives for short-medium range traffic were acquired, together with 80 EMUs of the ALe 801/940 class, 120 ALn 668 diesel railcars. Some 1,000 much-needed passenger and 7,000 freight cars were also ordered. In the 1990s, work started on the

Treno Alta Velocità Treno Alta Velocità SpA (TAV) was a special-purpose entity owned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (itself owned by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane) for the planning and construction of a high-speed rail network in Italy. Purpose The purpose of ...

(''TAV'') project, which involved building a new high-speed network on the routes

– (Bologna–Florence–Rome–Naples) –

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

– (Milan–Verona–Venice) –

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

and Milan–

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. Most of the planned lines have already been opened, while international links with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

are underway. Most of the Rome–Naples line opened in December 2005, the Turin–Milan line partially opened in February 2006 and the Milan–Bologna line opened in December 2008. The remaining sections of the Rome–Naples and the Turin–Milan lines and the Bologna–Florence line were completed in December 2009. All these lines are designed for speeds up to . Since then, it is possible to travel from Turin to Salerno (ca. ) in less than 5 hours. More than 100 trains per day are operated. Other proposed high-speed lines are Salerno-Reggio Calabria (connected to Sicily with the future bridge over the Strait of Messina), Palermo-Catania and Naples–Bari. The main public operator of high-speed trains (''alta velocità AV'', formerly

Eurostar Italia Eurostar Italia was the brand name given to high-speed trains operated by Trenitalia in Italy. The brand was discontinued and replaced with Le Frecce in December 2012. History Eurostar trains, which were launched in 1997 to replace the Pendolin ...

) is

, part of FSI. Trains are divided into three categories (called " Le Frecce"): '' Frecciarossa'' ("Red arrow") trains operate at a maximum of on dedicated high-speed tracks; ''

Frecciargento ''Frecciargento'' (; from , "silver arrow") is a high-speed train of the Italian national train operator, Trenitalia, as one of its '' Le Frecce'' brands (along with '' Frecciarossa'' and '' Frecciabianca''). The name was introduced in 2012; these ...

'' (Silver arrow) trains operate at a maximum of on both high-speed and mainline tracks; '' Frecciabianca'' (White arrow) trains operate at a maximum of on mainline tracks only. Since 2012, a new and Italy's first private train operator, NTV (branded as Italo), run high-speed services in competition with

. Even nowadays, Italy is the only country in Europe with a private high-speed train operator. Construction of the Milan-Venice high-speed line began in 2013 and in December 2016 the Milan-Treviglio-Brescia section has been opened to passenger traffic; the Milan-Genoa high-speed line (Terzo Valico dei Giovi) is also under construction. Today it is possible to travel from Rome to Milan in less than 3 hours (2h 55' without intermediate stops) with the

Frecciarossa 1000 The Frecciarossa 1000 is a High-speed rail, high-speed train operated by Italian state railway operator Trenitalia and the private Spanish high-speed rail operator Iryo. It was co-developed as a joint venture between Italian rail manufacturer Hit ...

, the new high-speed train. As of June 2024, there are 46 Trenitalia and 33 Italo round-trip high-speed trains every weekday that cover this route,

Night trains

The ''

Nightjet Nightjet (stylised as nightjet) is a brand name given by the ÖBB, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) to its overnight passenger train services. ''Nightjet'' operates in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Switze ...

'' of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) serves different major cities in Italy like Rome, Venice, Florence and Milano. The trains can be used for rides inside Italy as well as for journeys abroad. ''Nightjet'' trains offer beds in sleeper carriages (Nightjet's most comfortable service category), couchette carriages, and seated carriages. On certain connections, cars can also be transported on the train. Bikes can be transported in a bike transport bag, or on some connections also in special bike racks.

Intercity trains

Trains in Napoli Centrale-Garibaldi 18 55 44 221000

With the introduction of high-speed trains, intercity trains are limited to a few services per day on mainline and regional tracks. The daytime services (''

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

'' IC), while not frequent and limited to one or two trains per route, are essential in providing access to cities and towns off the railway's mainline network. The main routes are

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

(stopping at

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

and

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

to Rome (stopping at

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

and

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

/ stopping at

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

, Bologna, Prato, Florence and Arezzo), Bologna to

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

(stopping at

Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

and

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

) and Rome to

Reggio di Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As of 2025, it has 168,572 ...

(stopping at Latina and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

). In addition, the Intercity trains provide a more economical means of long-distance rail travel within Italy. The night trains (''Intercity Notte'' ICN) have sleeper compartments and washrooms, but no showers on board. The main routes are Rome to

/Bozen (calling at Florence, Bologna,

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

Rovereto Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River. History Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the fronti ...

and

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

), Milan to

(calling at Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Faenza, Forlì, Cesena, Rimini, Ancona, Pescara, Bari and Brindisi),

to Lecce (calling at

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

Voghera image:Voghera Castle.jpg, The Castle of Voghera in a 19th-century etching. Voghera (Emilian dialect, Vogherese dialect of Emilian: ''Vughera''; Latin language, Latin: ''Forum Iulii Iriensium'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Pavia i ...

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

, Parma, Bologna, Rimini, Pescara, Termoli, San Severo, Foggia, Barletta, Bisceglie, Molfetta, Bari, Monopoli, Fasano, Ostuni and Brindisi) and Reggio di Calabria to Turin (calling at Naples, Rome,

, La Spezia and Genova). Most portions of these ICN services run during the night; since most services take 10 to 15 hours to complete a one-way journey, their daytime portion provides extra train connections to complement the Intercity services.

Regional trains

Fara Sabina - stazione ferroviaria - elettrotreno Trenitalia Rock

Trenitalia operates regional services (both fast ''veloce RV'' and stopping ''REG'') throughout Italy. Trenord ETR 204 010 Palazzolo sull Oglio 20230410

Trenord ETR 204 010 Palazzolo sull Oglio 20230410

Regional train agencies exist: their train schedules are largely connected to and shown on Trenitalia, and tickets for such train services can be purchased through Trenitalia's national network. Other regional agencies have separate ticket systems which are not mutually exchangeable with that of Trenitalia. These "regional" tickets could be purchased at local newsagents or tobacco stores instead. * Trentino-Alto Adige / : Südtirol Bahn () runs regional services on Ala/Ahl-am-Etsch to Bolzano/Bozen (calling at Rovereto/Rofreit, Trento/Trient and Mezzocorona/Kronmetz), Bolzano/Bozen to Merano/Meran, Bressanone/Brixen to San Candido/Innichen, and a direct "Tirol regional express REX" service between Bolzano/Bozen in Italy and Innsbruck in Austria. *

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

: Sistemi Territoriali runs regional trains in Veneto region. *

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

: Trenord runs the Malpensa Express airport train, many Milan's suburban lines and most regional train services in Lombardy. Trenord also co-operates with DB and ÖBB on the EuroCity Verona-Munich service, and with SBB CFF FFS (joint-venture TiLo) on the regional express and suburban trains between Lombardy and the towns of Canton of Ticino, such as Lugano, Locarno, Cadenazzo, Bellinzona and Mendrisio. *

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

Trasporto Passeggeri Emilia-Romagna Trasporto Passeggeri Emilia-Romagna (TPER, Italian for ''Emilia-Romagna passenger transportation'') is a public company overseeing public transportation in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, in the province of Ferrara and in parts of the province ...

provides vital connections across cities on different mainline networks, including Modena, Parma, Suzzara, Ferrara, Reggio Emilia and Bologna. *

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

: La Ferroviaria Italiana operates in Arezzo province. *

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

: Sangritana runs daily services between Pescara and Lanciano. In addition to these agencies, there is a great deal of other little operators, such as AMT Genova for the Genova-Casella railway.

Stations

Italy's top ten railway stations by annual passengers are:

Rapid transit

Metro

Milan Metro The Milan Metro () is the rapid transit system serving Milan, Italy, operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi. The network consists of five lines with a total network length of , and a total of List of Milan Metro stations, 125 stations (+2 in con ...

is the largest

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system in Italy in terms of length, number of stations and ridership; and the fifth longest in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the eighth in the

. Seven cities have metro systems:

Commuter rail

15 cities have

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

systems; cities without wikilink are those listed just above for their metro rail system. *

( Bari metropolitan railway service, 3 lines) *

( Bologna metropolitan railway service, 8 lines) *

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

, 1 line *

Catanzaro Catanzaro (; or ; ), also known as the "City of the two Seas" (), is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its province and the second most populated comune of the region, behind Reggio Calabr ...

, 2 lines * Genoa ( Genoa urban railway service, 3 lines) *

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

, 1 line * Milan ( Milan suburban railway service, 12 lines) * Naples, 8 lines *

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

( Palermo metropolitan railway service, 2 lines) *

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

, 1 line *

Potenza Potenza (, ; ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one of ...

, 1 line *

, 1 line * Rome (

FL lines The FL lines, formerly Lazio regional railways (, also ''Ferrovie Laziali'') consist of 8 commuter rail lines operated by Trenitalia, converging on the city of Rome. It operates as a combined suburban railway system that connects the city-centre ...

, 8 lines) *

( Salerno metropolitan railway service, 1 line) * Turin ( Turin metropolitan railway service, 8 lines)

Airport shuttles

Airport shuttle buses are highly developed and convenient for rail travellers. Most airports in Italy are not connected to the railway network, except for

Rome Fiumicino Airport Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport () is an international airport in Fiumicino, Italy, serving Rome. It is the busiest airport in the country, the eighth-busiest airport in Europe and the world's 39th-busiest airport with over 49.2&nb ...

Milan Malpensa Airport Milan Malpensa Airport "Silvio Berlusconi" is an international airport in Ferno, in the Province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. It is the largest airport in northern Italy, serving Lombardy, Piedmont, and Liguria, as well as the Swiss canton of T ...

and Turin Caselle Airport. In

, there is the monorail Marconi Express, connecting Bologna Airport to the main

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Linate Airport Milan Linate Airport is a city airport located in Milan, the second-largest city and largest urban area of Italy. It served 10.6 million passengers and recorded 118,060 aircraft movements in 2024, making it one of the busiest airports in Ital ...

in Milan has been connected to line 4 of the Milan metro since 2022. * Venice: Venezia-Mestre station - Marco Polo Airport (50 minutes) and Treviso Airport * Milan: Milano Centrale station - Malpensa Airport (1 hour 5 minutes), Linate Airport (35 minutes) and Milan Bergamo Airport (1 hour) * Brescia: Brescia station - Milan Bergamo Airport (1 hour) * Rome: Rome Termini station - Fiumicino Airport (31 minutes) * Verona: Verona Porta Nuova station - Villafranca "Catullo" Airport (20 minutes) * Bologna: Centrale station - Bologna Airport (20 minutes) - Route modified in November 2020. It shifted from route BLQ (Bologna Centrale Station-Bologna Airport) to route 944 Ospedale Maggiore-Bologna Airport * Pescara Centrale station - Abruzzo Airport (10 minutes) * Pisa: Pisa Centrale station - San Giusto Airport (5 minutes) * Florence: Firenze S M Novella station - Florence Airport

Tram

11 cities have

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

system: * Bergamo–Albino light rail * Cagliari light rail * Trams in Florence * Trams in Messina * Trams in Mestre * Trams in Milan * Trams in Naples *

Trams in Padua The Padua Tramway () serves Padua, a city in Veneto in Northern Italy. In operation since 2007, it is long, and comprises one line, linking the north with the south, calling at the main station and then passing the historic city centre. The sys ...

* Trams in Palermo *

Trams in Rome The Rome tramway network (Italian language, Italian: ''Rete tranviaria di Roma'') composed of 6 tram lines operating in the city of Rome, Italy, part of the Transport in Rome, Rome’s public transport network. The current tram system in Rome, ...

* Trams in Turin * Trieste–Opicina tramway

Tram-train

2 cities have

tram-train A tram-train or dual-system tram is a type of light rail vehicle that both meets the standards of a light rail system, and also national mainline standards. Tramcars are adapted to be capable of running on streets like an urban tramway but a ...

system,

and

Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...

. The Rome–Giardinetti railway connects Laziali (a regional train station some from Termini's main concourse) with Giardinetti to the east just past the Grande Raccordo Anulare, Rome's orbital motorway. It is run by ATAC, the company responsible for public transportation in the city, which also operates the Rome Metro. The present railway is the only part of the old and longer Rome–Fiuggi–Alatri–Frosinone railway to be in service. The latest shortening of the line occurred in 2008 with the closing of the Giardinetti–Pantano section, which has now become part of the Metro Line C. The line had been due to be dismantled in 2016 to be replaced with a bus lane along Via Casilina, but in March 2015 it was announced that the line would instead be retained and modernised. Metrosassari, also called ''Sassari tramway'', ''Sassari tram-train'' or ''Sassari metro-tramway'' ( or ) is the commercial name of a

line in

, Italy, operated by the regional public transport company ''ARST'' (''Azienda Regionale Sarda Trasporti''). Despite having been built in the early 2000s, in the urban section the line was built with single track and

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

, to connect with the same gauge used in the secondary railway lines in Sardinia. The tramway part of the line ('' Stazione'' - ''Emiciclo Garibaldi'') opened in October 2006, linking the railway station with the city centre via the hospital district. On 27 September 2009 the line was extended into the peripheral district of Santa Maria di Pisa, running on the electrified portion of the Sassari–Sorso railway. The main part of the network was in 2013 in the advanced development phase. It is under construction is the extension of the line from Santa Maria di Pisa to Li Punti and Baldinca, and the electrification of the railway to

Sorso Sorso () is a ''comune'' (municipality) of c. 14,700 inhabitants in the province of Sassari in the Italy, Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Sassari. Overview Sorso is a tourist resort facing the Gulf of Asinara. Apart tourism, the e ...

, 10 km from Sassari. It is also planned to convert and electrify the 28 km Sassari-Alghero railway to allow the trams to reach the village of Olmedo, Fertilia Airport and the town of

Alghero Alghero (; ; ; ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian province of Sassari in the north west of the island of Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ''Aleguerium'', which is a mediaeval Latin word m ...

Rail links to adjacent countries

Simplon railway tunnel entrance switzerland

Italy has 11 rail border crossings over the Alpine mountains with her neighbouring countries: six are designated as mainline tracks and two are metre-gauge tracks. The six mainline border crossings are: two with

(one for Nice and Marseille; the other for Lyon and Dijon), two with

(one for Brig, Bern and Geneva; the other for Chiasso, Lugano, Lucerne and Zürich), and two with Austria (one for Innsbruck; the other for Villach, Graz and Vienna). The two-metre-gauge track crossings are located at the border town of

Tirano Tirano (; ) is a town and (municipality) in Valtellina, located in the province of Sondrio, Lombardy (northern Italy). It has 9,053 inhabitants (2016) and is adjacent to the Italy–Switzerland border. The river Adda (river), Adda flows through ...

(enters Switzerland's Canton Graubünden/Grisons) and Domodossola (enters Switzerland's canton of

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

). There was a railway line connecting Italy's northeastern port of

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

(

) and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, built when Trieste was part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

:the

Austrian Southern Railway The Austrian Southern Railway () is a long double track railway, which linked the capital Vienna with Trieste, the former main seaport of Austria-Hungary, by railway for the first time. It now forms the Southern Railway in Austria and the Spi ...

. This railway stopped operating at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Direct connections between Trieste and Ljubljana have resumed since september 2018. * Italy-France: Marseille-Ventimiglia railway, currently EuroCity trains of Thello Milan-Marseille and one

EuroNight EuroNight, abbreviated EN, is a European train category that denotes many mainline national and international night train services within the Western and Central European inter-city rail network. Overview The classification and name were brough ...

train of RZD Moscow-Nice. * Italy-France: Tenda line, operated by

* Italy-France:

Fréjus Rail Tunnel The Fréjus Rail Tunnel (also called Mont Cenis Tunnel) is a rail tunnel of length in the European Alps, carrying the Turin–Modane railway through Mont Cenis to an end-on connection with the Culoz–Modane railway and linking Bardonecc ...

at above sea, currently

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

TGV trains Milan-Paris and Turin-Paris and EuroNight trains of Thello Venice-Paris * Italy-Switzerland:

Simplon Tunnel The Simplon Tunnel (''Simplontunnel'', ''Traforo del Sempione'' or ''Galleria del Sempione'') is a railway tunnel on the Simplon railway that connects Brig, Switzerland, Brig, Switzerland and Domodossola, Italy, through the Alps, providing a shor ...

, currently

EuroCity EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...

(EC) trains of SBB CFF FFS Milan-Geneva and Milan-Bern * Italy-Switzerland: Domodossola–Locarno railway line line connecting Domodossola (Italy) with Locarno (Switzerland), operated by Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi SA (FART) * Italy-Switzerland: Cadenazzo–Luino railway line connecting Luino (Italy) to Bellinzona (Switzerland) and runs on the eastern coast of Lake Maggiore, operated by TILO regional trains * Italy-Switzerland: Mendrisio–Varese railway line connecting Varese (Italy) to Mendrisio (Switzerland), operated by TILO regional trains * Italy-Switzerland: Milan–Chiasso railway, currently EuroCity trains of SBB CFF FFS Milan-Zürich * Italy-Switzerland:

Bernina railway The Bernina railway line (; ; ) is a Single track (rail), single-track railway line forming part of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). It links the spa resort of St. Moritz, in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, with the tow ...

at above sea, metre-gauge trains of

RhB The Rhaetian Railway (; ; ), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB operates all the railway lines of the Cantons of Switzerland, ...

Tirano-St. Moritz and the Bernina Express tourist train * Italy-Austria: Brenner railway at above sea, currently EuroCity trains of ÖBB-DB Munich-Verona and Munich-Venice/Bologna, and DB CityNightLine Munich-Rome/Milan * Italy-Austria: Drava Valley Railway at above sea connecting San Candido/Innichen (Italy) and Lienz (Austria) * Italy-Austria: Rudolf Railway connecting Venice and Udine (Italy) to Villach (Austria), currently EuroCity trains of ÖBB Venice-Vienna, EuroNight trains of ÖBB Vienna-Rome/Milan, and DB CityNightLine Munich-Venice * Italy-Slovenia: Tarvisio–Ljubljana Railway, Trieste-Ljubljana * Italy-Slovenia-

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

:Trieste-

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

The

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

is also linked to Italy with a railway line serving a single railway station, the Vatican City railway station. This line is used only for special occasions.

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

used to have a narrow gauge rail connection with Italy; this was dismantled in 1944. All links have the same gauge. *

— voltage change 3 kV DC/15 kV AC *

— voltage change 3 kV DC/25 kV AC or 1.5 kV DC *

— same voltage *

— voltage change 3 kV DC/15 kV AC (plus two narrow gauge lines, same voltage) *

— no electrification *

— closed, narrow gauge Domodossola staz ferr lato strada

Stations on the border are: * Roma San Pietro is the border station of the Rome-Vatican City railway *

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; , ; ; ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located west of Genoa, and from the French-Italian border, on the Gulf of Genoa, having a small harbour at the mouth of the Roia river, w ...

is the border station on the

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionOlivetta San Michele and Limone Piemonte on both sides of the Tenda Railway *

Modane Modane (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in southeastern France. The commune is in the Maurienne Valley, and it also belongs to the Vanoise ...

is the border station on the

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

main line ( Fréjus Tunnel line). *

Domodossola Domodossola (; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy. It was also known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo d'Ossola (due to it ...

is the border station of the

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

main line (

line). * Ribellasca is on the Vigezzina. * Luino is the border station of the Oleggio–Pino railway. *

Chiasso Chiasso (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Mendrisio (district), Mendrisio in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. As Extreme points of Switzerland, the southernmost of Switzerland's ...

is the border station of the

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

main line ( Gotthard Tunnel line). *

is the terminus on the Italian side of the Bernina line of the Rhätische Bahn. * Brenner is the border station of the

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

main line ( Brenner railway). * San Candido is the border station of the Fortezza- Lienz secondary line. * Tarvisio Boscoverde is the border station of the

Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Wien Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

main line (

line). * Gorizia Centrale station serves as link to the

Slovenian Railways Slovenian Railways (, SŽ) is the state railway company of Slovenia, created in 1991. Slovenia is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Slovenia is 79. History What is now Slovenia received its firs ...

, through the station of

Nova Gorica Nova Gorica () is a town in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy. It is the seat of the Municipality of Nova Gorica. Nova Gorica is a planned town, built according to the principles of modernist architecture after 1947, when the Treaty of pe ...

, which can be entered also directly by pedestrians from the Italian side. *

Villa Opicina Opicina (), formerly Poggioreale del Carso in Italian, is a town in northeastern Italy, close to the Slovenian border at Fernetti (). Opicina is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Trieste, the provincial and regional capital. The town has a large ...

(

) serves as link to the Slovenian Railways, through the stations of

Sežana Sežana (; ) is a town in the Slovenian Littoral region of Slovenia, near the border with Italy. It is the seat of the Municipality of Sežana. Sežana is located on the Karst Plateau, from Trieste, Italy, and from Ljubljana, the capital city ...

and Repentabor.

Heritage railways

In Italy, the

heritage railways A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods ...

institute is recognized and protected by law no. 128 of 9 August 2017, which has as its objective the protection and valorisation of disused, suspended or abolished railway lines, of particular cultural, landscape and tourist value, including both railway routes and stations and the related works of art and appurtenances, on which, upon the proposal of the regions to which they belong, tourism-type traffic management is applied (art. 2, paragraph 1). At the same time, the law identified a first list of 18 tourist railways, considered to be of particular value (art. 2, paragraph 2). The list is periodically updated by decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, in agreement with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

, also taking into account the reports in the State-Regions Conference, a list which in 2022 reached 26 railway lines. According to article 1, law 128/2017 has as its purpose: "the protection and valorisation of railway sections of particular cultural, landscape and tourist value, which include railway routes, stations and related works of art and appurtenances, and of the historic and tourist rolling stock authorized to travel along them, as well as the regulation of the use of ferrocycles". Viadukt zwischen Nulvi und Martis

Below is the list of railway lines recognized as tourist railways by Italian legislation. a) pursuant to art. 2 paragraph 2 law 128/2017: # Sulmona-Castel di Sangro section of the A ordinary gauge, owned by RFI. # # # # # Castel di Sangro-Carpinone section of the Sulmona-Isernia railway # Ceva–Ormea railway # A

, regional railway owned by ARST; the service is called '' Trenino Verde''. # # Sassari–Tempio-Palau railway # # # Castelvetrano-Porto Palo section of the Line part of the disused narrow gauge FS network of Sicily. # Agrigento Bassa-Porto Empedocle section of the Castelvetrano-Porto Empedocle railway # # Asciano–Monte Antico railway # # b) pursuant to the Ministerial Decree of 30 March 2022: # # # Alba-Nizza Monferrato section of the # Novara–Varallo railway # Fabriano-Pergola section of the # # # # Malnate Olona-Swiss border section of the Valmorea railway. Brusio Cavaglia 2009 2

The Bernina railway line is a single-track railway line forming part of the

Rhaetian Railway The Rhaetian Railway (; ; ), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB operates all the railway lines of the Cantons of Switzerland, ...

(RhB). It links the spa resort of

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

, in the canton of Graubünden,

, with the town of

, in the

Province of Sondrio The province of Sondrio (), also known as Valtellina (the major valley of the province) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city of Sondrio. As of 2024, it has a population of 179,165. History The prov ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, via the

Bernina Pass The Bernina Pass (el. .) () is a high mountain pass in the Bernina Range of the Alps, in the canton of Graubünden (Grisons) in eastern Switzerland. It connects the famous resort town of St. Moritz in the Engadin valley with the Italian-spea ...

. Reaching a height of above sea level, it is the third highest railway crossing in Europe. It also ranks as the highest

adhesion railway An adhesion railway relies on adhesion traction to move the train, and is the most widespread and common type of railway in the world. Adhesion traction is the friction between the drive wheels and the steel rail. Since the vast majority of railw ...

of the continent, andwith inclines of up to 7%as one of the steepest adhesion railways in the world. The elevation difference on the section between the Bernina Pass and Tirano is , allowing passengers to view glaciers along the line. On 7 July 2008, the Bernina line and the Albula railway line, which also forms part of the RhB, were recorded in the list of

UNESCO World Heritage Sites World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

, under the name ''

in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes''. The whole site is a cross-border joint Swiss-Italian heritage area. Trains operating on the Bernina line include the Bernina Express. In July 2023,

established a new company, the "FS Treni Turistici Italiani" (English: FS Italian Tourist Trains), with the mission "to propose an offer of railway services expressly designed and calibrated for quality, sustainable tourism and attentive to rediscovering the riches of the Italian territory. Tourism that can experience the train journey as an integral moment of the holiday, an element of quality in the overall tourist experience". There are three service areas proposed: * ''

Luxury train A luxury train is a premium Passenger train, passenger rail service. Some luxury trains promote tourism in destinations across a region, while others (such as the ''Maharajas' Express'') take passengers on a ride through a single country. Luxur ...

s'', which includes the circulation of the "

Orient Express The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger luxury train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe, w ...

- La Dolce Vita" from 2024, and Venice Simplon Orient Express, already operating on European routes; * ''

Express Express, The Expresss or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * ''The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid * The Expre ...

and historic trains'', with the express trains of the 1980s and 1990s being redeveloped and modernized in the railway workshops of

, while the historic trains are used for journeys that include stops with guided tours and tastings; * ''Regional trains'', also with trips that include experiential tourist stops, which pass through places rich in history, with villages and areas of landscape, naturalistic, food and wine and agri-food interest.

Funding

The Italian railways are partially funded by the government, receiving €8.1 billion in 2009.

Categories and types of trains

These are the major service categories and models of Italian trains. File:L'ETR.675 n. 14 alla stazione di Roma Termini.jpg , Italo operates on main High-Speed lines by NTV. Makes a few stops in the most important cities. File:ETR.600 Frecciarossa.jpg , Frecciarossa operates on High-Speed lines by

. Makes a few stops in major cities. File:Venetië Frecciargento High Speed 11a uit Rome (10668443663).jpg, Frecciargento operates on High-Speed lines by

. Makes some stops in big cities. File:Trenitalia Frecciabianca.jpg, Frecciabianca operates on main lines by

. Stops in big cities. File:E.464.340 corsa prova Roma Ostiense.jpg, Intercity operates on main lines by

. Stops in big cities. File:ETR 610 "Cisalpino due".jpg, Eurocity, formerly Cisalpino, operates on international main lines within the European Union by

. Stops in big cities. File:FS Vivalto 20 at Venezia Santa Lucia train station.jpg, RegionaleVeloce operates on regional lines in a region or in adjacent regions by

. Stops in the main stations of the local service. File:Roma - stazione Termini - ETR.425.jpg, Regionale operates on regional lines by

. Stops in every station of the local service. File:Trenord R3 009 2011.jpg, Regio-Express operates on regional lines by Trenord. Stops in some stations of the local service. File:Logo on Stadler BTR.813.jpg, RegionaleVeloce as operates in the

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

by Trenitalia File:ETR 521 Rock con leone S. Marco 2.jpg, RegionaleVeloce as operates in

by Trenitalia File:Bruneck ETR155-003 20100717Y673a.jpg, Regionale as operates in Trentino-Alto Adige by SAD File:FLIRT a Venezia Mestre.jpg, Regionale as operates in some lines of

by Sistemi Territoriali (ST) File:FUC ATR 110 002 Cividale stazione 20120414.JPG, Regionale as operates in

Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...

by Società Ferrovie Udine-Cividale (FUC) File:Pesa - ATR220.019 a Nardò.jpg, Regionale as operates in

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

by Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE)

Main stations

File:Sezione storica della stazione centrale di Bari.jpg, Bari Centrale,

File:Bologna-Stazione Centrale-DSCF7236.JPG, Bologna Centrale,

File:Stazione di santa maria novella vista dal convento di santa maria novella.jpg, Firenze Santa Maria Novella,

File:Genova Stazione Brignole Esterno 02.jpg, Genova Brignole,

File:Genova Stazione di Genova Piazza Principe Esterno 01.jpg, Genova Piazza Principe,

File:Milano - Piazzale Cadorna e Stazione Ferrovie Nord - panoramio.jpg,

Milano Cadorna Milano Cadorna is a commuter railway station located near the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, Italy. History The original station, built in wood in the style of a chalet, was opened in 1879. This was enlarged in 1920, but the station was destroyed ...

File:Front view of Milan Stazione Centrale entrance portico.jpg,

Milano Centrale Milano Centrale () is the main railway station of the city of Milan, Italy, and is the second busiest railway station in Italy for passenger flow (after Roma Termini) and the largest railway station in Europe by volume. The station is a terminu ...

File:Stazione di Porta Garibaldi, Milano, ingresso viaggiatori.jpg, Milano Porta Garibaldi,

File:Stazione alta velocita, Zaha Hadid, Napoli Afragola.jpg, Napoli Afragola,

Metropolitan City of Naples The Metropolitan City of Naples () is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Naples. The province was established on 1 January 2015 and contains 92 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). ...

File:Napoli Centrale railway station in 2018.10.jpg, Napoli Centrale,

File:"Praça da Estação" de Palermo (1036620145).jpg, Palermo Centrale,

File:Roma Ostiense station.jpg, Roma Ostiense,

File:Roma termini 01.jpg, Roma Termini,

File:2013-06-15 Roma Stazione FS Tiburtina.jpg,

Roma Tiburtina Roma Tiburtina is the second largest railway station in Rome, after Roma Termini station, Roma Termini. Located in the north-eastern part of the city, it was originally constructed during the 1860s as a Train station#Terminus, terminal station, a ...

File:Trieste Centrale (IMG 20211010 115938).jpg, Trieste Centrale,

File:Porta Nuova Station Turin.jpg, Torino Porta Nuova,

File:Arriere-gare-torino-porta-susa.jpg, Torino Porta Susa,

File:Mestre train station.jpg, Venezia Mestre,

File:Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia - panoramio - Mister No (1).jpg, Venezia Santa Lucia,

File:Stazione Verona PN.jpg, Verona Porta Nuova,

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

RFI (Infrastructure manager)
Official website (Italian only)
Lyon Turin Ferroviaire

Railway Technology.com article
on Italian High-Speed Rail, including NTV, Accessed 5 February 2008
Italian HS System
{{Authority control

The network

History

High-speed rail

Night trains

Intercity trains

Regional trains

Stations

Rapid transit

Metro

Commuter rail

Airport shuttles

Tram

Tram-train

Rail links to adjacent countries

Heritage railways

Funding

Categories and types of trains

Main stations

See also

References

Bibliography

External links