24/09/2023 – By Frédéric de Kemmeter – Railway signalling and freelance copywriter – Suscribe my blog
(Version en français)
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The TiLo, which covers Ticino in Switzerland and the north of Lombardy in Italy, is a little-talked-about railway cross-border service. An opportunity to take a look at a strong economic region that has succeeded in building a cross-border rail service in a favourable context.
Two regions
Landlocked between Switzerland beyond the Gotthard and Italy, Ticino is a territory where different cultures and systems intermingle. From a cultural point of view, the people of Ticino pay more attention to neighbouring Lombardy than to rest of Switzerland, because of their common language and culture.
To the south of the Swiss canton, Lombardy is one of Europe’s leading regions and Italy’s richest. One sixth of Italy’s population, around 10 million people, live in Lombardy (16.2% of the national population; 2% of the population of the European Union), making it the second most densely populated region in Italy after Campania. The population is heavily concentrated in the Milan metropolitan area and the Alpine foothills that make up the southern part of the provinces of Varese, Como, Lecco, Monza and Bergamo.
Milan is one of Europe’s major financial centres, and the capital of Lombardy is a global destination for luxury goods and fashion, as well as being one of the continent’s leaders in business tourism.
The density of the population and economy of the two regions, as well as a common language – Italian – has certainly encouraged a more integrated approach to transport, even if the institutional systems differ.
Institutionnal
However, relations between neighbouring border regions are not always smooth sailing. The national law of each can sometimes create a number of obstacles.
In Italy, for example, there are three levels of institution with which the country can establish cross-border cooperation: the Region, the Province and the Municipality. In Switzerland, on the other hand, there are only two recognised institutional levels, the Canton and the Municipality. For a Swiss canton, it is more appropriate to have institutional cooperation with an Italian province, which is of a comparable size.
Cross-border cooperation seems to have been limited only to transport and, to a lesser extent, cross-border workers. Since the early 2000s, the number of cross-border workers has been growing steadily.
Public transports
In the early 1990s, a major revival of public transport began in Ticino, Switzerland, thanks to a new awareness of the advantages it offered in terms of capacity, environmental impact (noise, atmospheric emissions) and energy consumption. The decision to modernise the Swiss rail system through the « Rail 2000 » and « AlpTransit » projects had largely contributed to this revival.
In Ticino, in parallel with the planning and construction of the Gotthard and Monte Ceneri base tunnels, a large-scale redevelopment and development of the public transport network was initiated as part of a medium- and long-term vision. The result is the regional rail system, the backbone of the regional public transport system, a kind of metro that provides frequent, fast connections throughout the canton and across the border to Como, Varese, Milan and Malpensa.
The vision behind the regional rail system also integrates the urban and regional bus network, as well as national and international long-distance services.
A regional cross-border rail service
When TiLo (Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia) was set up in June 2004, it was a joint venture between Trenitalia and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). The two companies held 50% of the share capital of TiLo, which is a public limited company. The head office was set up in Bellinzona, Switzerland. So this is not a classic case of cooperation between two neighbouring public services.
The company’s objective was – and still is – to develop cross-border regional traffic between the canton of Ticino and Lombardy by managing rail connections between the canton of Ticino in Switzerland and the Lombardy Region in Italy.
The first concrete stage of TiLo was inaugurated in December 2004 with the introduction of an S-Bahn-type service on Swiss territory, with the introduction of a full 30-minute timetable on the S10 between Chiasso and Bellinzona and on the S20 Locarno-Bellizona. The TiLo project also provided for the construction of several new stops and the renovation of existing ones, with the aim of directly serving areas with high traffic potential.
In Italy, until December 2008, the network consisted of line R (from Chiasso to Milan-Porta Garibaldi/Central Station) and line S9 (linking the Lombardy stations of Seregno, Desio, Lissone – Muggiò and Monza to Milan San Cristoforo). These lines were managed by Trenitalia.
Developpements
Following the signing of the agreement on 14 December 2008 for the implementation of a new regional rail service between Ticino and Lombardy, TiLo focused its activities on developing cross-border services on the S10 Biasca-Chiasso-Como-Albate and S30 Bellinzona-Luino lines, as well as on the Swiss S20 Bellinzona-Locarno line.
In June 2011, Trenord, an operator owned equally by Trenitalia and Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM), became TiLo’s shareholder by taking over Trenitalia’s 50% stake. Three representatives of Trenord were appointed to the new Board of Directors. In August of the same year, a new agreement was signed with a view to adopting a precise action plan for the phased development of regional and long-distance rail traffic between Switzerland and Italy in the run-up to Expo 2015 in Milan.
In particular, the agreement provides for fleet expansion and financing, as well as promoting the interoperability of TiLo drivers on the Mendrisio-Varese line (FMV). TiLo SA hires its employees on the basis of a collective labour agreement concluded with the social partners, which sets out the terms and conditions of employment. Some TiLo train drivers receive training that enables them to work not only in Switzerland, but also in Italy, for example on the Stabio-Varese or Chiasso-Como-Milan lines. The financial participation of the Italian company Trenord in this training is, as in the past, a major factor in the success of the project.
To Milan airport
Malpensa international airport has become the main air hub for Ticino, and even more so for Lombardy. Milan, a global city and business hub, is well connected to the rest of the world by direct flights.
In December 2011, a direct connection called S30 was created every two hours between Cadenazzo and Milan-Malpensa airport. This will later be replaced by a scheduled service between Biasca, Lugano, Varese and Malpensa (route S50).
Network today
At the same time, SBB and Trenitalia, in collaboration with the canton of Ticino and the Lombardy region, worked on implementing the new Ticino-Lombardy fare. The network now comprises 7 lines divided into two groups:
- A purely Swiss group (S20, S90) ;
- A cross-border group (S10, S30, S40, S50, RE80).
These 7 lines are supplemented in Lombardy by 5 Trenord lines on Italian territory only, but which are not part of the TiLo network as such.
There is therefore a vast group of lines included in a common tariff system covering both countries but the two regions retain their respective regional season tickets, the Arcobaleno pass for Ticino and the Lo Viaggio pass for Lombardy.
Since December 2017, following an agreement between the Canton of Ticino and the Lombardy Region, cross-border tickets and season tickets provide reductions of more than 30% for regional lines between Switzerland and Italy. These tickets allow travel in Ticino and Lombardy on the networks of transport operators belonging to the Arcobaleno tariff community (CTA – Switzerland) and on Trenord regional and suburban trains (Italy).
The cost of cross-border tickets is calculated by adding the prices of the Arcobaleno zones (for the CTA zone in Ticino) to the Italian kilometric fares (for the section in Lombardy). The Italian fare system is therefore not based on zones as in Switzerland. For the CTA (Ticino), the validity of return tickets is equivalent to a full-day pass. For Trenord (Italy), return tickets are only valid for two journeys (one outward and one return).
This shows just how difficult it is to introduce a unified vision of public service on both sides of a border. What’s more, these are free negotiations between two border regions, not between two national states.
Rolling stock
While there are a number of challenges in terms of ticketing, it seems to have been easier in terms of rolling stock. Originally, the Ticino fleet consisted of 19 FLIRT RABe Class 524/ETR Class 150 dual-current electric trains, while on the Italian side, TiLo leased 10 tractor units from FMN, each normally comprising an E 464 locomotive, seven air-conditioned coaches and a driver car.
Since then, the fleet has grown to 54 FLIRT trainsets, divided as follows:
- 23 four-car trainsets (19 for SBB, Class RABe 524 – 4 trainsets for Trenord, Class 524.201 to 204);
- 31 six-cars trainsets (22 for SBB et 9 to FMN, who lease them back to Trenord as part of TiLo).
The Italian FMN fleet was initially registered in Italy as ETR 150, but became ETR 524 when the unified 12-digit marking was applied. RABe/ETR 524s must be dual-current/ dual-voltage: 15kV AC in Switzerland and 3kV DC in Italy. We can therefore welcome the standardisation of the fleet, which means that the same level of comfort can be enjoyed wherever you are on the TiLo network.
In May 2019, a new livery was presented for the entire fleet. To underline the strong link with the region, Tilo trains combine the red and blue of the Canton of Ticino with the green of the Lombardy Region.
2021: enhancement with the Ceneri tunnel opening
The opening of the Ceneri base tunnel in December 2020 has profoundly changed the TiLo network. This is the last of the three tunnels planned as part of the international network of major Alpine crossings, so it will also benefit the regional network.
The new FLIRT trainsets that have been ordered have enabled the Ticino to have half-hourly services, and the Ceneri is enabling journey times to be reduced by 15 minutes. On the other hand, a TiLo connection is being maintained on the old route, to avoid to forget anyone. These details demonstrate once again how important infrastructure is, and how important it is to have a vision that enables us to operate high-quality regional traffic.
Looking at the figures for 2018, TiLo carried around 15 million passengers, including 11.5 million in the canton of Ticino and 3.5 million in Lombardy. The RE service between Milano Centrale and Lugano and Locarno recorded around 15,000 passengers per weekday.
The TiLo service, a fine example of local and regional transport that crosses borders. Ticketing may still need to be better harmonised, but having trains that cross a border every half-hour is an achievement in itself. 🟧
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24/09/2023 – By Frédéric de Kemmeter – Railway signalling – Suscribe my blog
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