Move

EUROCITY EC-52 | Milan to Basel (and to Frankfurt) via the Simplon Tunnel

Posted by Timothy on

October 2022. As we wanted to test Trenitalia‘s Frecciarossa 1000 service from Paris to Milan, we planned a rail trip around it. From Antwerp to Paris with Thalys, the ‘Red Arrow’ to Milan and once in Italy continuing to Trieste and Bologna. The return trip took us to Basel in Switzerland to enjoy SBB‘s panoramic coach and Germany‘s Rhine route to Cologne. From there we got back to Belgium. 

From Milano Centrale or Milan Central Station to Basel SBB we took the EuroCity EC-52 which departs from Milan and terminates at Frankfurt Main Station or Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. 

EuroCity

EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network.In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level InterCity (IC) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness.

Each EC train is operated by more than one European Union or Swiss rail company, under a multilateral co-operative arrangement, and all EC trains link important European cities with each other.

The EuroCity label replaced the older Trans Europ Express (TEE) name for border-crossing trains in Europe. Whereas TEE services were first-class only, EuroCity trains convey first and second class coaches.

The EuroCity schedule was designed with train pairs running one train in both directions, thus resulting in a more frequent service than the TEE, which normally ran only once a day. 

EC-52.

Criteria

The criteria EuroCity trains are required to meet include the following:

  • train through two or more countries;
  • all cars air-conditioned;
  • stop only at stations serving major cities;
  • stops scheduled to last no more than five minutes, in special cases up to 15 minutes;
  • food and beverages available onboard (preferably from a dining car);
  • conductors speak at least two languages, one of which must be English, French, or German;
  • average speed (including stops) above 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph), exceptions for routes including mountainous terrain and train ferries.

In 1993 it was decided that EuroCity trains must complete their journey between 6 AM and midnight. The night services are operated as EuroNight since 23 May 1993.

EuroCity-Express

Since December 2017, the label is supplemented by the new classification EuroCity Express (ECE). Initially, this will only be used for a single service: the Frankfurt (Main) to Milan service operated by SBB with their ETR 610 high-speed tilting train.

This classification is only used in Germany, in Switzerland and Italy these trains run as EC. 

This is due to tariff reasons: in Germany, EC normally are classified below ICE, the highest class, and thus slightly cheaper. ECE however are the same rank as ICE, and are priced as such, as the Deutsche Bahn claims them to provide similar levels of comfort. 

ETR 610

So we were inside this ETR 610 or New Pendolino. The New Pendolino is a class of high-speed tilting trains built by Alstom Ferroviaria (Fiat Ferroviaria) for Trenitalia and Cisalpino. It is derived from a model developed for the Chinese operator Changchun Railway Company, and subsequently developed for other railway companies, optionally using the variable weight technology that characterizes this family of trains. 

The ETR 610 or RABe 503 primarily differs from the ETR 600 in the sense that the ETR 610 / RABe 503 supports the voltage and signalling systems used in Switzerland and Germany.

Life on the ETR 610

The ETR 610 train sets exist in two liveries: the Trenitalia red and grey and the SBB-CFF-FFS white, dark grey and red. The interiors differ slightly, but the technology of the information systems is definitely Swiss in both.

The jingles or chimes are Swiss. Did you know the Swiss Federal Railways have different languages depending on the language of the country or canton? In bilingual areas, the language of the station of origin of the train has precedence. 

So SBB, CFF and FFS sound differently, but the S in SBB and the S in FFS have the same note. the F in CFF and in FFS as well. 

The ETR 610 has two classes: first and second. First has a 2+1 configuration. Service is not included in the price but available. There are Swiss and European power outlets. 

The journey

Starting in Milan, the train goes towards the mountains. The scenery starts Mediterranean, with palm trees. A highpoint is the Simplon Tunnel, of course, which gave its name to the Simplon Orient Express. 

The Simplon Tunnel connects Brig in Switzerland and Domodossola in Italy, through the Alps, providing a shortcut under the Simplon Pass route. It is straight except for short curves at either end.

It actually consists of two single-track tunnels built nearly 15 years apart. The first to be opened is 19,803 m (64,970 ft) long; the second is 19,824 m (65,039 ft) long, making it the longest railway tunnel in the world for most of the twentieth century, from 1906 until 1982, when the Daishimizu Tunnel opened.

Work on the first tube of the Simplon Tunnel started in 1898. King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and President of the Swiss Confederation Ludwig Forrer opened the tunnel at Brig on 10 May 1906. The builders of the tunnel were Hermann Häustler and Hugo von Kager. Work on the second tube of the tunnel started in 1912 and it was opened in 1921. 

After the mountains the train goes tho the canton of Bern hinterland and we got of at Basel SBB. 

So?

It was a pleasant journey through some pretty scenery. 

Paris – Italy – Basel 2022

  1. REVIEW | Restaurant Le Train Blue at Paris-Gare-de-Lyon.
  2. REVIEW | Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 Paris – Milan in Business Executive.
  3. REVIEW | Just Hotel Milano.
  4. FYRA NOSTALGIA | Trenitalia Frecciargento Milan to Trieste on the ETR 700 ex-Fyra.
  5. REVIEW | Grand Hotel Duchi d’Aosta.
  6. TRIESTE | Miramare Castle.
  7. History of Trieste at Diego de Henriquez War for Peace Museum / Museo de la Guerra per Pace.
  8. ITALY | 1.5 day in Trieste.
  9. EMILIA-ROMAGNA | Sights and churches in Bologna.
  10. History of Bologna Museum at Palazzo Pepoli.
  11. REVIEW | The Social Hub Bologna.
  12. BOLOGNA | University Museums of Palazzo Poggi ft. Obstetrics, Military Architecture, Geographical Maps and Human Anatomy.
  13. REVIEW | Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena.
  14. EMILIA-ROMAGNA | A walk in Modena.
  15. EMILIA-ROMAGNA | Bologna & Modena 2022.
  16. Trains in Italy.