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Milano / Milan / Mailand to Zürich / Zurich by train
How to take the rail journey from Milano/Milan to Zurich
A highlight of the 2021 European rail timetables was to be an expanded service of trains between Milan and Zurich, the brand new trains that have been introduced to the route and the newly opened Ceneri Base Tunnel have enabled the fastest ever journey time between the two cities.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on the route, so the planned most frequent ever train service has had to be placed on hold.
Though this remains a journey which showcases the best of European rail travel.
The smart new trains have restaurant cars, the engineering achievements to enable the journey time are phenomenal and despite the epic, recently opened rail tunnels, most of the journey is still fantastically beautiful!
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Routes
From Milano Centrale to Zürich HB / Zurich main station
Journey Summary
3hr 17min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Zurich
Connect in Zurich for destinations without direct trains from Milan including Chur, Munich, St Gallen and Stuttgart
These trains also call at: Arth -Goldau (change for Luzern) and Zug~
Note that three types of train are used on this route, the new Giruno trains are gradually replacing the ETR 600 trains, while on some departures, particularly at weekends, the Astoro trains are used.
On some departures an Astoro and ETR 600 train are joined together.
4 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
When looking up journeys on Trenitalia enter Zuerich (city) as the Arrival station.
Promotional fares are occasionally offered for this journey; when they are available the price can drop to €19.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Italiarail | from €29 | |
| Trenitalia | from €29 | |
| Trainline | from €29 | |
| Saveatrain | from €29 | |
| Omio | from €29 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
There is an additional daily departure from Milano Lambrate station at 15:52 (the train is on route from Genova).
Lambrate is on line M2 of the Milan Metro; this line also calls at Centrale.
The first half of this journey is unexceptional, but things become a tad more fabulous once the train has passed through Chiasso and crossed the border into Switzerland.
Once you're in Switzerland, look out for these highlights:
The views from the left over Lake Lugano, as the train nears Lugano.
The crossing over Lake Lugano - with great views from both sides of the train.
South of Lugano station, the views over the lake switch to the right.
After departure from Lugano, the train will now travel through the new Ceneri Base Tunnel.
After departure from Bellinzona the train will enter the world's longest railway tunnel, The Gotthard Base Tunnel - so long that it takes the train around 14mins to pass through it.
Despite the fact that this train now travels through The Gotthard Base Tunnel this is still a scenic journey through the Alps.
After the train has exited the tunnel and travelled through Schwyz, there are views on the left over Lake Luzern, which aren’t available when heading south on these trains.
Then shortly afterwards, before Arth-Goldau, also on the left there are views over the Lauerzersee.
After departure from Arth-Goldau there are some beautiful views over Lake Zug - also on the left.
(All of the videos were taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction)
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This is one of more than 1000 journey guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
