Virtual Railfan Tour of Switzerland - Saturday - Crossing Italy on the FART


The station in Locarno is underground

A couple of years ago Paul and I had to travel from Zurich to Yverdon-les-Bains. We could have done this within a couple of hours but we also wanted to travel through the newly opened Gotthard tunnel. A look at the handy map folder that comes with the Swiss Pass showed that we could travel through the Gotthard to Bellinzona, take a train to Locarno, have lunch then take the narrow gauge train through Italy to Bellinzona. From there we could take the standard gauge through the Simplon Tunnel to Brig. All this within the validity of our passes.
Part of the Swiss Pass folder showing the route from Locarno, through Domodossola to Brig.

Today we will take a look at the Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinese (FART), which runs the narrow gauge line from Locarno to Domodossola. The route lies through spectacular scenery giving the line its nickname Centovalli - hundred valleys. The line is run by a couple of different companies but there is through running as well as local services at each end.  Unfortunately the line starts in tunnel and ends in tunnel. There were local tramways at each end which have been abandoned and the opportunity has been taken to integrate the international line with the local main line stations.

The trains are comfortable and there are some panorama cars.










The entry (green) under Domodossola station (black) is curious and there is a long walk underground.
Our trip went as planned as far as Domodossola where, it being Saturday, the Italian railways were running out of course. We took the next train through the Simplon tunnel to Brig where we stopped for some train watching.

Good video showing the Panorama cars

More good video including older cars

Good cab ride

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