Because construction work is taking place on the Simplon in the summer, rail passengers from Brig to Italy via the Simplon line cannot travel continuously by train. For three weeks in August, they have to change to buses between Iselle and Domodossola.
This summer, the Italian railway company Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) is carrying out extensive construction work on the Simplon axis. To do this, it will close the railway line between Iselle and Domodossola from August 9 to 30, 2024. During these three weeks, all trains between Iselle and Domodossola will be cancelled. Rail replacement buses will operate.
The aim of this modernisation work is to enable freight trains to transport loads with a corner height of four metres, which will benefit transalpine freight traffic. However, this work requires that the service on the Simplon axis will have to be reduced over a period of several years.
This work will have the following impacts on travellers in 2024:
- On the route from Basel via Bern to Milan and on the route from Geneva via Brig to Milan, one train will be cancelled in each direction from Monday to Friday all year round. During the week, six trains will continue to run daily in each direction, and at weekends the service will remain unchanged at eight trains.
- This summer, Italian railways are carrying out construction work on the Arona-Stresa section, which will result in this section being closed from June 9 to September 8, 2024. EC trains will therefore not run between Domodossola and Milan. Trenitalia will use replacement buses between Domodossola and Milan, which will mean longer journey times and fewer seats.
- The Brig–Domodossola route will be closed on the Iselle–Domodossola section from August 9 to 30, 2024. Shuttle trains will run between Brig and Iselle, as well as replacement buses between Iselle and Domodossola and between Domodossola and Milan. Here, too, the journey time will be longer and there will be fewer seats available.
The BLS RegioExpress from Brig to Domodossola only runs between Brig and Iselle. Because the long-distance trains between Brig and Domodossola are also cancelled, the BLS RegioExpress trains run every hour between Brig and Iselle instead of every two hours as usual. Buses provide connections further towards Domodossola and serve the Varzo and Preglia stations along the way. The journey time between Brig and Domodossola is almost doubled and there are fewer seats available for passengers. There are further restrictions in long-distance traffic.
The timetable for the car transport service on the Simplon will not be affected by the RFI construction work. During the week, the car transport trains run between Brig and Iselle every 90 minutes; on weekends, from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, they run every hour.
Additional trains for cross-border commuters will not run in August
The timetable between Brig and Domodossola will be slightly adjusted from July 29, 2024: The two additional trains that BLS offers cross-border commuters during peak hours in the morning between Domodossola and Visp (RE2 Domodossola from 5:54 a.m.) and in the evening between Brig and Domodossola (RE2 Brig from 5:36 p.m.) will be cancelled from then until August 30, 2024.
This is because the Italian main holiday season begins at the beginning of August and fewer commuters travel to work in Switzerland. The online timetable has been adjusted.
Freight trains do not run on the Lötschberg axis.
BLS Cargo has been affected by construction work by RFI on the route between Arona and Stresa since June 8th. With the closure between Iselle and Domodossola from August 9th to 30th, no freight trains run on the Lötschberg axis. The BLS Cargo trains are being diverted via Gotthard.
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