Cross border rail passengers between Switzerland and northern Italy are facing significant disruption over the holiday and early winter period, as Swiss Federal Railways has confirmed that the Domodossola to Milan line is closed for major works and that EuroCity trains on this corridor are being cancelled or curtailed.

Long distance services are being partially replaced by buses between Domodossola and Milano Centrale, extending journey times and sharply reducing capacity on one of the key Alpine routes linking Zurich, Basel and Geneva with Milan.

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What SBB Has Announced About the Closure

Swiss Federal Railways has confirmed that international EuroCity services using the Simplon axis are affected by infrastructure works on the Italian side between Domodossola and Milan.

While trains continue to operate on the Swiss section between cities such as Zurich, Basel, Bern, Geneva and the border at Brig and Domodossola, they can no longer continue directly to Milano Centrale during the work periods notified by Italian infrastructure manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.

Instead, passengers are being transferred to replacement buses for the Italian domestic leg of the trip.

The disruption affects the high profile EuroCity services that form the backbone of daytime cross border travel via the Simplon route. These trains normally link Switzerland’s major cities with Milan up to several times a day, providing through journeys without the need to change.

With these services now either cancelled in the Italian section or turned back at Domodossola, many passengers are discovering that advance reservations are no longer valid all the way to their intended destination on the dates impacted by engineering works.

SBB has been advising customers that they should expect longer travel times and in some cases different departure and arrival times compared with the standard timetable.

The operator is also warning that there will be fewer seats available overall, both because trains are not running on the Italian side and because replacement buses have far lower capacity than a full length EuroCity train.

Travelers are being urged to check their specific train number and date carefully before setting out and to allow generous margins for connections.

Why the Domodossola to Milan Corridor Is Closed

The line between Domodossola and Milan is undergoing an intensive program of technological and capacity upgrades carried out by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.

The work includes installation of the European Rail Traffic Management System, renewal of signaling, refurbishment and enlargement of tunnels, and a series of track layout changes at key nodes such as Gallarate and Parabiago.

As part of this program, RFI has scheduled full closures of different sections of the route on various dates, most notably over the end of December and into early January, when traffic between Rho and Gallarate is suspended around the clock.

These Italian works come on top of a wider, multi year modernization of the Simplon axis, which includes the renovation of the Simplon Tunnel itself on the Swiss side.

According to industry briefings, the eastern tube of the tunnel is being refurbished across several years, requiring complex operating patterns and periodic capacity restrictions.

Taken together, the tunnel renovation and the Italian line upgrades are intended to secure long term reliability and higher performance for passenger and freight services between northern and southern Europe, but they are creating near term pain for travelers during key travel periods.

National and regional trains within Italy are also affected by these construction phases, with RFI regularly publishing notices of altered timetables for regional services between Milan Porta Garibaldi, Arona and Domodossola and for long distance trains that usually run beyond the Milan region.

For cross border passengers, however, the most visible effect is the interruption of direct EuroCity links to Milano Centrale, which forces a mode change at Domodossola and breaks the seamless international journey that many travelers have come to expect on this route.

Impact on EuroCity Services and Timetables

The EuroCity timetable between Switzerland and Milan has been heavily adjusted to absorb the closure. On affected days, many EC trains that would ordinarily run Zurich or Basel to Milano Centrale are being diverted, shortened or cancelled on the Italian side.

In practical terms, that means that these trains terminate in Domodossola, where international passengers must disembark and transfer to buses laid on by the railway companies or by local contractors under their instruction.

While SBB and its Italian partners are seeking to keep at least one or two usable connections per corridor, capacity and frequency are cut.

Passenger information from Switzerland earlier in the year already flagged that certain trains in each direction on the Basel–Bern–Milan and Geneva–Brig–Milan routes would be temporarily withdrawn because of the Domodossola to Milan works.

The latest closure periods intensify that pattern by introducing full line suspensions for several days, which in turn leads to wholesale replacement of the Milan leg of the journey.

For timetable planners, the combination of international coordination and infrastructure constraints presents a complicated puzzle. Journey times are longer and less predictable, so padding must be added to published schedules to reflect road traffic conditions.

Cross platform connections that normally rely on precise arrival and departure times at Milan stations cannot be guaranteed, meaning that SBB and Trenitalia are forced to publish conservative estimates and discourage tight onward connections, especially to long distance services beyond Milan.

Replacement Buses Between Domodossola and Milano Centrale

In place of the suspended rail services, an array of bus routes is operating between Domodossola and Milano Centrale. These buses are typically timed to meet arriving EuroCity trains from Switzerland and to deliver passengers to Milan in time for onward connections where possible.

Coaches are being used rather than urban style buses in order to offer a closer approximation of intercity comfort, but the step down from a train in terms of seating space, luggage stowage and onboard facilities is nonetheless significant.

Capacity is the most obvious limitation. A single EuroCity set can carry several hundred passengers, whereas a standard coach seats a fraction of that number.

In periods of peak demand, such as around Christmas and New Year, this mismatch raises the risk of overcrowding and of passengers being left to wait for later buses.

Railway operators are therefore encouraging travelers who have any flexibility to avoid the highest demand trains, or to consider alternative routes via other border crossings, even if that means rerouting through Ticino or taking a different Alpine pass.

From an operational perspective, road traffic is an additional uncertainty that rail operators generally do not have to manage.

Delays caused by congestion on the approach to Milan, adverse weather along the lakes or accidents on the motorway network can compound the extended travel times due to the works.

Passengers joining the buses in Domodossola should plan with this in mind and avoid booking rigidly timed onward flights or meetings in Milan, allowing themselves buffer time at both ends of the trip.

Longer Journeys and Fewer Seats for Cross Border Travelers

Even for those who secure a seat, the overall travel experience on the Simplon route is more cumbersome for the duration of the works.

A typical Zurich to Milan journey that might usually take around three and a half hours end to end now involves a train journey to Domodossola, a transfer to a bus, potential waiting time, and then a bus ride of up to two hours or more depending on traffic, before potentially transferring again to urban transport within Milan.

The need to change mode in Domodossola introduces accessibility challenges as well. Passengers with heavy luggage, families with young children, elderly travelers and those with reduced mobility may find the platform to bus transfer demanding, especially in poor weather.

Rail operators say staff are on hand locally to assist, but visitors unfamiliar with the station and its surroundings should be prepared for some level of inconvenience compared with a single seat rail journey.

The cut in overall capacity is also likely to be felt in the Swiss domestic legs of the trip. With fewer through trains running all the way to Milan and some travelers choosing to reroute via other axes such as the Gotthard corridor to Lugano and Milano Centrale, certain services may become busier than normal.

Travelers may wish to reserve seats where possible, travel outside peak hours, or consider breaking their journey in intermediate cities in order to secure more comfortable connections.

Advice for Planning Trips During the Disruption

Given the scale of the works and the multi day closures of key sections between Rho, Gallarate, Arona and Domodossola, experts recommend that travelers take a cautious approach to planning.

First and foremost, passengers should consult the latest timetables and disruption notices from SBB and the Italian rail operators for the exact dates of their intended journey.

Because different work phases affect different sections on different days, assumptions based on a previous trip may no longer be valid a week later.

Travelers are also advised to allow additional time at the start of their journey in case of last minute platform changes or altered departure times.

Arriving at the station early provides a margin for clarifying with staff whether a specific train is running as advertised and where buses will depart from at Domodossola.

Those with tight onward commitments in Milan, such as intercontinental flights from the city’s airports or time critical business appointments, may want to consider traveling a day earlier or using an alternative route that avoids the affected corridor entirely.

For some passengers, alternative cross border rail routes may offer a more reliable experience during the peak periods of disruption, albeit sometimes with longer distances or additional changes.

Routes via the Gotthard Base Tunnel toward Lugano and then to Milan, or via western Switzerland with a transfer to different Italian corridors, may in certain cases provide fully rail based options with fewer bus segments.

However, availability of tickets, reservation requirements and travel times vary, so careful comparison is essential.

How Long the Works Will Last and What Comes Next

The current wave of disruption is tied to specific engineering phases, particularly the full suspension of traffic between Rho and Gallarate from late December into early January, and further closures at Gallarate and other points on the line in early 2026.

These follow earlier closures between Arona and Domodossola in autumn 2025, during which RFI conducted extensive tunnel profile upgrades and laid the groundwork for the deployment of ERTMS on the route.

Beyond these individual windows, both SBB and RFI have indicated that the broader modernization of the Simplon axis is a multi year project.

The renovation of the Simplon Tunnel and the technological upgrade of the Italian approaches are expected to continue in phases, with further, though hopefully less severe, timetable adjustments in subsequent years.

However, rail planners insist that the outcome will be a more robust, higher capacity corridor capable of supporting more frequent and more reliable international services between Switzerland and Italy.

In the context of the December 2025 timetable change, SBB is simultaneously preparing a series of improvements to its international network, including additional direct trains to Italy and enhanced night train offerings to other European countries.

Many of these long term enhancements depend on the successful completion of the current wave of infrastructure works.

For today’s passengers, that offers limited comfort during a disrupted journey, but it does underline that the inconvenience is part of a strategic investment in the future of cross border rail travel.

FAQ

Q1. Is the entire route between Switzerland and Milan closed?
The closure mainly affects the Domodossola to Milan section on the Italian side during defined work periods, while trains generally continue to run within Switzerland to and from Domodossola.

Q2. Will my EuroCity train still go directly to Milano Centrale?
On affected days many EuroCity trains terminate at Domodossola, with replacement buses covering the final leg to Milano Centrale instead of a through train.

Q3. How much longer will the journey take with bus replacement?
Depending on the specific connection and road conditions, travelers should expect at least 45 to 90 minutes of additional travel time compared with the usual direct rail journey.

Q4. Do I need a separate ticket for the replacement bus?
No, tickets and reservations issued for the affected EuroCity trains are normally valid on the designated replacement buses for the corresponding section.

Q5. Are seat reservations honored on the buses?
Seat reservations apply to the train portion of the trip, but bus seating is usually free seating, offered on a first come, first served basis and subject to capacity.

Q6. Where do the replacement buses depart from in Domodossola?
Replacement buses typically depart from areas adjacent to the station building at Domodossola, with signage and staff on site directing passengers from the arriving platform.

Q7. Can I still make connections in Milan to other long distance trains?
Connections are possible, but because bus arrival times can be affected by traffic, travelers should avoid very tight onward connections and allow extra buffer time in Milano Centrale.

Q8. Are there alternative rail routes that avoid the bus segment?
Depending on your origin and destination, you may be able to travel via other Swiss Italian border crossings, such as routes through Ticino, although these can be longer and may require additional changes.

Q9. How long will the current disruption pattern last?
The most severe closure periods are scheduled over late December and early January and at specific weekends, but further work phases are planned into 2026 as part of a wider modernization program.

Q10. What should I do if my travel dates are flexible?
If you can choose your travel day or time, consider avoiding the peak closure dates, traveling outside the busiest hours, or postponing non essential trips until after the most intensive work phases have finished.