Milano Centrale railway station

Milano Centrale
Main entrance portico on Piazza Duca d'Aosta, 2016
Location	Piazza Duca d'Aosta 20124 Milan Italy
Coordinates	45°29′10″N 09°12′13″E / 45.48611°N 9.20361°E / 45.48611; 9.20361Coordinates: 45°29′10″N 09°12′13″E / 45.48611°N 9.20361°E / 45.48611; 9.20361
Owned by	Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
Operated by	Grandi Stazioni
Line(s)	Milan–Bologna (high-speed) Milan–Bologna (traditional) Milan–Turin (high-speed) Milan–Turin (traditional) Milan–Genoa Milan–Venice Milan–Chiasso (–Zürich) Milan–Domodossola (–Brig) Milan–Lecco
Tracks	24
Connections	Milan Metro ATM trams ATM buses and trolleybuses Airport buses
Construction
Architect	Ulisse Stacchini
Other information
IATA code	XIK[1]
History
Opened	1 July 1931; 90 years ago (1931-07-01)
Electrified	1938 (1938)
Passengers
120 million per year
Location
Milano Centrale Location in Milan Show map of Milan Milano Centrale Location in Lombardy Show map of Lombardy Milano Centrale Location in Northern Italy Show map of Northern Italy Milano Centrale Location in Italy Show map of Italy

Milano Centrale (Italian: Stazione Milano Centrale) is the main railway station of the city of Milan, Italy, and is the largest railway station in Europe by volume. The station is a terminus and located at the northern end of central Milan. It was officially inaugurated in 1931 to replace the old central station (built 1864), which was a transit station but with a limited number of tracks and space, so could not handle the increased traffic caused by the opening of the Simplon tunnel in 1906.

Milano Centrale has high-speed connections to Turin in the west, Venice via Verona in the east and on the north-south mainline to Bologna, Rome, Naples and Salerno. The Simplon and Gotthard railway lines connect Milano Centrale to Bern and Geneva via Domodossola and Zürich via Chiasso in Switzerland.

Destinations of inter-city and regional railways radiate from Milano Centrale to Ventimiglia (border of France), Genova, Turin, Domodossola (border of Swiss Canton of Valais/Wallis), Tirano (border of Swiss Canton of Graubünden/Grisons), Bergamo, Verona, Mantova, Bologna and La Spezia.

The Milan suburban railway service, however, does not use Milano Centrale but the other mainline stations: Porta Garibaldi (northwest), Cadorna (west) and Rogoredo (east).

Aldo Rossi declared in an interview of February 1995 to Cecilia Bolognesi:^[2] "They told me that when Frank Lloyd Wright came to Milan, and he came only once, he was really impressed by it and said it was the most beautiful station in the world. For me it is also more beautiful than Grand Central Station in New York. I know few stations like this one".

History[]

The first Milano Centrale station opened in 1864 in the area now occupied by the Piazza della Repubblica, south of the modern station.^[3] It was designed by French architect Louis-Jules Bouchot^[4] (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 April 28, 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, whose design was modeled after Washington Union Station in Washington, DC,^[5] and the construction of the new station began. The purported style was an eclectic mix called "Assyrian-Lombard."^[6]

Due to the Italian economic crisis during World War I, construction proceeded very slowly, and the project, rather simple at the beginning, kept changing and became more and more complex and majestic. This happened especially when Benito Mussolini became Prime Minister, and wanted the station to represent the power of the Fascist regime.^[7] The major changes were the new platform types and the introduction of the great steel canopies by Alberto Fava; 341 m (1,119 ft) long and covering an area of 66,500 square metres (716,000 sq ft).

Construction resumed in 1925 and on July 1, 1931, the station was officially opened in the presence of Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano.^[8]

The station played a vital 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.^[9][10]

Its façade is 200 metres (660 ft) wide and its vault is 72 metres (236 ft) 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."^[11]

On September 25, 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.^[12]

There remain unrestored and inaccessible areas to the public within the station, including a waiting room with swastikas on the floor designed to receive Hitler.^[6]

Gallery[]

• 

  The first Milano Centrale railway station from Giornale dell'Ingegnere e Architetto, January 1865, vol. 13, Annex

• 

  A view of the arrival hall

• 

  The roof of the central section

• 

  Lateral view of the gallery

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 Bern, Lugano, Geneva, Zürich, Paris, Vienna, Marseille and Munich.^[13] 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 d'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 service of Milan Suburbano at the Centrale station.

• 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 - Senigalla - 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 d'Emilia - Modena - Bologna - Cesana - Rimini - Ancona - Pescara - Foggia - Bari - Trani - Brindisi - Lecce
• Regional train (Trenitalia Regionale Veloce) Turin-Milan: Turin - Vercelli - Novara - Milan
• Regional train (Trenitalia Regional) Milan-Alessandria: Milan - Pavia - Voghera - Tortona - Alessandria
• Regional train (Trenord Regio) Milan-Verona: Milan - Brescia - Peschiera del Garda - Verona
• Regional train (Trenord Regio) Milan-Tirano: Milan - Lecco - Sondrio - Tirano
• Regional train (Trenord Regio) Milan-Mantua: Milan - Lodi - Codgono - Cremona - Piadana - Mantova
• Regional train (Trenord Regio) Milan-Bergamo: Milan - Treviglio - Bergamo
• Historic train (Fondazione FS/Trenitalia Storico) Milan-Varallo: Milan - Novara - Varallo Sesia

Cross-border (Night train)[]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2018)

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

The following train has been moved to stop at Milano Lambrate railway station and Milano Porta Garibaldi railway station in 2020:

• Night train (ÖBB Nightjet) 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)

This train connects at Verona with ÖBB Nightjet/EuroNight Rome-Vienna: the train splits into two parts (first half couples with ÖBB Rome-Vienna and leaves for Vienna or Rome; second half continues to Munich or Milan). Vienna-Rome splits into two trains (first half continues to Rome or Vienna; second half couples with the train for Milan or Munich).

Cross-border[]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2018)

After the opening of Gotthard Base Tunnel in December 2016, train services between Milan and Switzerland increased in frequency. All SBB-CFF-FSS Eurocity now save 35 minutes of total journey time between Bellinzona and Arth-Goldau.

From December 2017, a new cross-border service Milan-Frankfurt (Trenitalia-DB-SBB Eurocity) via Zürich will be operational.

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

Platforms[]

Trenord Malpensa Express
Legend
Malpensa Aeroporto Terminal 2 Malpensa Aeroporto Terminal 1 Ferno-Lonate Pozzolo Busto Arsizio Nord   Saronno   Milano Bovisa Milano Cadorna Milano Porta Garibaldi        Milano Centrale

The station, along with Roma Termini and Firenze Santa Maria Novella, has security gates which prevent access to the platforms without a ticket.

Each platform is usually dedicated to some particular route. The current organization is as follows, although temporary changes may occur.

• Platforms 1-3: Chiasso/Domodossola/Milan-Turin (ES* AV)
• Platforms 4-6: Turin/Cisalpino 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 partially broken up.^[14]

Images[]

See also[]

• History of rail transport in Italy
• List of railway stations in Lombardy
• Rail transport in Italy
• Railway stations in Milan
• Railway stations in Italy

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Milano Centrale train station.

• Official website at Grandistazioni website
• Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936), "Milan Central station", Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 546–552 Illustrated contemporary description of the station