Milano Centrale railway station

History

The first Milano Centrale station opened in 1864 in the area now occupied by the Piazza della Repubblica, south of the modern station. It was designed by French architect Louis-Jules Bouchot (1817–1907) and its architectural style was reminiscent of Parisian buildings of that period. The station was designed to replace Porta Tosa station (opened in 1846 as the terminus of the line to Treviglio and eventually Venice) and Porta Nuova station (opened in 1850 as the second terminus on the line to Monza, which was eventually extended to Chiasso) and was interconnected with all lines, either existing or under construction, surrounding Milan. It remained in operation until 30 June 1931, when the current station was opened. There is now no trace of the old station left.

King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy laid the cornerstone of the new station on 28 April 1906, before a blueprint for the station had even been chosen. The last, real, contest for its construction was won in 1912 by architect Ulisse Stacchini, who titled his project "In Motu Vita," meaning "Life in Motion" in Latin. His proposal was given unanimous approval by the commission gathered to judge the competition. The purported style was an eclectic mix called "Assyrian-Lombard."

Due to the Italian economic crisis during World War I, construction proceeded very slowly. Stacchini made multiple revisions to the project, mainly to quell concerns by the Milan city government about high construction costs. Benito Mussolini's ascension to the position of Prime Minister was the catalyst behind the resumption of work in 1925, as multiple public works projects were accelerated in order to bolster the reception of the Fascist government's ability to effectively manage national projects. The major changes were the new platform types and the introduction of the great steel canopies by Alberto Fava; 341 m long and covering an area of 66500 m2.

Construction resumed in 1925, and on 1 July 1931 the station was officially opened in the presence of Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano.

The station played a major role during the Holocaust in Italy, when Jewish inmates from the San Vittore Prison, previously captured in northern Italy, would be taken to a secret track, Binario 21, underneath the station to be deported to extermination camps. Altogether, 15 deportation trains with 1,200 prisoners left the station from Binario 21. A Memoriale della Shoah was opened at the former platform in January 2013 to commemorate these events.

Its façade is 200 m wide and its vault is 72 m high, a record when it was built. It has 24 platforms. Each day about 330,000 passengers use the station, totaling about 120 million per year.

The station has no definite architectural style, but is a blend of many different styles, especially Liberty and Art Deco, but not limited to those. It is adorned with numerous sculptures. "The 'incongruous envelope of stone' (Attilio Pracchi) of this gigantic and monumental building dominates Piazza Duca d'Aosta."

On 25 September 2006 officials announced a €100 million project, already in progress, to refurbish the station. Of the total cost, €20 million has been allocated to restore "certain areas of high artistic value" while the remaining €80 million will be used for more general improvements to the station to make it more functional with the current railway services. The project includes moving the ticket office and installing new elevators and escalators for increased accessibility.

There remain unrestored and inaccessible areas to the public within the station, including a waiting room with swastikas on the floor designed to receive Adolf Hitler.

Gallery

File:Milano Stazione Centrale 1865.jpg|The first Milano Centrale railway station from Giornale dell'Ingegnere e Architetto, January 1865, vol. 13, Annex File:Paolo Monti - Serie fotografica (Milano, 1969) - BEIC 6330877.jpg|Lateral view of the gallery File:Dettaglio di una svastica nel pavimento della Sala Reale della Stazione Centrale a Milano.jpg|Swastika in the floor of the Royal Hall of the Milan Central Station File:Sala Reale della Stazione Centrale a Milano.jpg|The Royal Hall designed in 1931 by the architect Ulisse Stacchini File:Milano-Centrale-Entrance-Hall-2012.JPG|A view of the arrival hall File:Milan Centrale Stazione trainshed.jpg|The roof of the central section

Train services

The station has 24 tracks. Every day about 320,000 passengers pass through the station using about 500 trains, for an annual total of 120 million passengers. The station is served by national and international routes, with both long-distance and regional lines. Daily international destinations include Basel, Lugano, Geneva, Zürich, Paris, Vienna, Marseille and Munich. The station is also connected to Milan-Malpensa Airport through the Malpensa Express airport train.

The following services call at the station (incomplete):

Domestic (High-speed)

• High-speed train (Trenitalia Frecciarossa) – Turin–Salerno : Turin Porta Nuova – Turin Porta Susa – Milano Centrale – Milan Rogoredo – Bologna Centrale – Florence S.M. Novella – Rome Tiburtina – Rome Termini – Naples Centrale – Salerno
• High-speed train (Trenitalia Frecciarossa) – Milan–Bari : Milan – Bologna – Ancona – Pescara – Foggia – Bari
• High-speed train (Trenitalia Frecciarossa) – Milan–Venice : Milan – Brescia – Peschiera del Garda – Verona – Vicenza – Padua – Venice
• High-speed train (Italo NTV) – Turin–Salerno : Turin – Milan – Bologna – Florence – Rome – Naples – Salerno
• High-speed train (Trenitalia Frecciabianca) – Turin–Venice : Turin – Novara – Milan – Brescia – Verona – Vicenza – Padua – Venice – (Trieste)
• High-speed train (Trenitalia Frecciabianca) – Milan–Lecce : Milan – Piacenza – Parma – Reggio Emilia – Modena – Bologna – Rimini – Pesaro – Ancona – San Benedetto del Tronto – Pescara – Termoli – Foggia – Bari – Brindisi – Lecce
• High-speed train (Trenitalia Frecciabianca) – Milan–Bari/Taranto : Milan – Modena – Bologna – Rimini – Ancona – Pescara – Foggia – Bari – Taranto

Domestic

For regional (Regio) trains to Monza and Como from Milano Centrale, refer to the cross-border services. There is no train of the Milan suburban railway service at Milano Centrale station, except for two late-night S8 trains bound for Lecco, which serve the last passengers arriving with long-distance trains.

• Airport train (Trenord Malpensa Express) – Milan–Malpensa Airport : Milan – (Busto Arsizio) – Malpensa Airport
• Intercity train (Trenitalia Intercity) – Milan–Lecce : Milan – Piacenza – Parma – Modena – Bologna – Rimini – Ancona – Pescara – Foggia – Trani – Bari – Fasano – Brindisi – Lecce
• Intercity train (Trenitalia Intercity) – Milan–Taranto : Milan – Lodi – Piacenza – Parma – Reggio Emilia – Modena – Bologna – Faenza – Cesena – Rimini – Riccione – Pesaro – Senigallia – Ancona – Giulianova – Pescara – Termoli – Foggia – Trani – Bisceglie – Bari – Taranto
• Intercity train (Trenitalia Intercity) – Milan–Livorno : Milan – Pavia – Tortona – Genova Piazza Principe – Genova Brignole – Santa Margherita Ligure-Portofino – Rapallo – Chiavari – Sestri Levante – Levanto – Monterosso – La Spezia Centrale – Massa Centro – Viareggio – Pisa Centrale – Livorno Centrale
• Intercity train (Trenitalia Intercity) – Milan–Ventimiglia : Milan – Pavia – Genova – San Remo – Ventimiglia
• Night train (Trenitalia Intercity Notte) – Milan–Lecce : Milan – Piacenza – Parma – Reggio Emilia – Modena – Bologna – Cesena – Rimini – Ancona – Pescara – Foggia – Bari – Trani – Brindisi – Lecce
• Regional train (Trenitalia Regionale Veloce): Turin–Milan: Turin – Vercelli – Novara – Milan
• Regional train (Trenitalia Regionale Veloce): Bologna - Milan: Bologna - Parma - Piacenza - Lodi - Milan :
• Regional express train (Trenord RegioExpress) – Milan–Alessandria/Novi Ligure : Milan – Pavia – Voghera – Tortona – Alessandria/Novi Ligure
• Regional express train (Trenord RegioExpress) – Milan–Verona : Milan – Brescia – Peschiera del Garda – Verona
• Regional express train (Trenord Regio) – Milan–Tirano : Milan – Lecco – Sondrio – Tirano
• Regional express train (Trenord RegioExpress) – Milan–Mantua : Milan – Lodi – Codogno – Cremona – Piadena – Mantua (limited to Bozzolo as of Decembre 2025, due to track doubling works)
• Regional express train (Trenord RegioExpress) – Milan–Bergamo : Milan – Pioltello-Limito – Bergamo
• Historic train (Fondazione FS / Trenitalia Storico) : several routes, to Paratico-Sarnico, Verona, Laveno-Mombello, Mortara, Cremona etc...

Cross-border (Night train)

(CH for Switzerland, D for Germany, A for Austria, MN for Monaco)

The following night train was rerouted in 2020 to include stops at Milano Lambrate railway station and Milano Porta Garibaldi railway station:

• Night train (ÖBB Nightjet, operated by Trenitalia) – Milan–Munich/Vienna : Milan – Brescia – Peschiera del Garda – Verona† – (Rovereto/Rofreit) – (Trento/Trient) – Bolzano/Bozen – (Brennero/Brenner) – Innsbruck (A) – Jenbach (A) – Kufstein (A) – Munich (D)

† At Verona, this train connects with the ÖBB Nightjet / EuroNight Rome–Vienna service. The combined formation is split as follows:

• One half couples with the ÖBB Rome–Vienna and continues toward Vienna or Rome.
• The other half proceeds to Munich or Milan.

The Vienna–Rome direction operates similarly, with one half continuing toward Rome or Vienna, while the other couples with the service to Milan or Munich.

Cross-border

After the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in December 2016, train services between Milan and Switzerland increased in frequency. All SBB-CFF-FSS EuroCity trains (operated by Trenitalia within Italy) now save approximately 35 minutes in total journey time between Bellinzona and Arth-Goldau.

Since December 2017, a new cross-border service, the Milan–Frankfurt EuroCity (operated jointly by Trenitalia, Deutsche Bahn and SBB-CFF-FSS) via Zürich has been operational.

On 18 December 2021, a new Paris–Milan high-speed service was introduced, operated by Frecciarossa.

Current major international train connections include:

• Regional express train (Trenord / TiLo Regio) – Milan–Locarno : Milan – Como San Giovanni – Chiasso (CH) – Lugano (CH) – Locarno (CH)
• EuroCity (Trenitalia / SBB-CFF-FSS) – Geneva–Milan/Venice : Geneva (CH) – Lausanne (CH) – Brig (CH) – Domodossola – Milan – (Brescia) – (Verona) – (Padua) – (Venice)
• EuroCity (Trenitalia / SBB-CFF-FSS) – Basel–Milan : Basel SBB (CH) – Bern (CH) – Thun (CH) – Brig (CH) – Domodossola – Stresa – Busto Arsizio – Milan
• EuroCity (Trenitalia / SBB-CFF-FSS) – Zürich–Milan : Zürich (CH) – Zug (CH) – Arth-Goldau (CH) – Bellinzona (CH) – Lugano (CH) – Chiasso (CH) – Como San Giovanni – Monza – Milan
• EuroCity (Trenitalia / SBB-CFF-FSS) – Lucerne–Milan : Lucerne (CH) – Arth-Goldau (CH) – Bellinzona (CH) – Lugano (CH) – Chiasso (CH) – Como San Giovanni – Monza – Milan

The station is the terminus of the Milan–Paris Frecciarossa, which was inaugurated on 18 December 2021.

Platforms

The station, along with Roma Termini and Firenze Santa Maria Novella, has security gates, normally free flowing, though supervised by agents.

Each platform is usually dedicated to a specific route. The current organization is as follows (subject to temporary changes):

• Platforms 1–3: Chiasso / Domodossola / Milan–Turin (AV FR), Milan–Malpensa airport train
• Platforms 4–6: Turin / Milan–Como–Arth Goldau–Basel / Zürich
• Platforms 7–13: Venice / Udine
• Platforms 14–17: Bologna–Florence–Rome–Naples
• Platforms 18–23: Genoa–Livorno / Ventimiglia / Parma / Cremona–Mantua / Milan–Treviglio–Bergamo
• Platform 24: Operations

Unusual track layout

On the northern side of the railway yard, there used to be a loop curve so that trains could turn around and reverse back into the station. The trains could so be displaced from the left side of the station to the right side and vice versa without crossing all the tracks. The tracks on the loop curve are now partially broken up.

Images

File:Milano-stazione01.jpg File:DSC02044 Uscita Stazione centrale di Milano - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 1-1-2007.jpg File:MilanoCentrale roof.jpg File:Milano Centrale railway station.jpg

References

References

1. (April 2021). "Servizio Ferroviario Suburbano". Regione Lombardia.
2. "Airport codes Milano (Milan), Italy (IT) {{!}} ICAO, IATA codes, location of airports of Airport codes Milano (Milan), Italy (IT) {{!}} latitude, longitude airports of Airport codes Milano (Milan), Italy (IT) {{!}} coordinates of airports of Airport codes Milano (Milan), Italy (IT) {{!}} International codes and coordinates of all airports in the world {{!}} International codes and coordinates of all airports in Airport codes Milano (Milan), Italy (IT)".
3. Data from [http://www.grandistazioni.it grandistazioni.it] (July 2007)
4. "La Stazione Centrale di Milano: la più grande in Europa".
5. Aldo Rossi, Luoghi Urbani, Unicopli 1999, p. 31
6. see also [[Milano Repubblica railway station]]
7. (January 2014). "Fascism, Architecture, and the Claiming of Modern Milan, 1922 1943". University of Toronto Press.
8. Angeleri, Gianfranco. (1985). "Milano Centrale: storia di una stazione". Edizioni Abete.
9. Daverio, Philippe. ''Lombardy''. Milan: RCS Libri, 2015. p 47.
10. Angeleri, Gianfranco. (1985). "Milano Centrale: storia di una stazione". Edizioni Abete.
11. "Bombastic Sculptures".
12. The New Central Station at Milan ''[[Railway Gazette International. Railway Gazette]]'' 11 September 1931 pages 331-341
13. "Mailand". Gedenkorte Europa 1939–1945.
14. Bridget Kevane. (29 June 2011). "A Wall of Indifference: Italy's Shoah Memorial". The Jewish Daily Forward.com.
15. Touring Club Guida di Milano, p. 471
16. (2006-09-25). "100mln Euros to requalify Milan Railway Central Station". AGI.
17. "International Destinations". Ferrovie dello Stato.
18. (15 December 2024). "IN TRENO ORARIO DIGITALE TUTT’ITALIA".
19. "Orario treni di NTV - Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori".
20. (18 December 2021). "Il viaggio del primo Frecciarossa Milano-Lione-Parigi".
21. (18 December 2021). "Trenitalia, partiti oggi i primi Frecciarossa che collegano Parigi con Milano, passando per Porta Susa".
22. Felice, Federica. (26 December 2021). "Frecciarossa Torino-Parigi, dopo il debutto tutti i dettagli su orari e tariffe".
23. Can easily be seen on Google Earth and most old maps