Steve McKenna enjoys a ride on the Swiss Centovalli Railway

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Steve McKenna enjoys a ride on the Swiss Centovalli Railway

Switzerland isn’t exactly lacking in amazing rail trips. You may have heard of — or indeed ridden — the Glacier Express, which revels in being (surely) the slowest express train in the world, taking eight hours to snake a sublime 290km alpine route between St Moritz and Zermatt.

Camera IconGlorious window scenery is a perk of riding the Centovalli Railway. Credit: Steve McKenna

Elsewhere in Switzerland, you have the GoldenPass, Gornergrat Railway, Bernina Express … OK, I’ll stop right here, because I could go on, such is the glut of scenic options to choose from. But did you know about the Centovalli Railway? Apologies if you do, but I didn’t think so. It has been around for a while — it celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023 — yet it’s remained low-key compared to the more hyped Swiss routes.

One reason for this, perhaps, is its location, hidden in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland, which many foreign (especially ***********) tourists are blissfully unaware of. That’s a pity as this is a wonderful region to visit and a ride on the Centovalli Railway is among its myriad highlights.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Linking Locarno (Switzerland) with Domodossola (Italy), this cross-border service is a staggering feat of engineering, coursing 52km through the Centovallina — or the Vigezzina as the Italians call this ruggedly photogenic region, which translates to mean “100 valleys”. Traversing 83 bridges and viaducts and 31 tunnels, this narrow-gauge railway stops at almost 30 stations, most of them tiny and cute and springboards for rewarding hiking trails. Some have cable cars that thread up to the densely-wooded mountains, where incredible vistas, farm restaurants and wellness hubs await.

I board the train in Locarno, a lovely town by Lake Maggiore that’s an endearing (and well-connected) base for my Ticinese travels. I spend most of the next two hours with my eyes or camera glued to my large (and squeaky clean) window as we bump by orchards and vineyards, boulder-strewn rivers, ravines and waterfalls. Sometimes I dash across the carriage to look out the other side (luckily the seats opposite me are vacant for much of this journey).

You can follow the train’s progress in real time on the official app and also listen to an audio tour sharing the history of the railway and region. I’m joined for a portion of the journey by Katja Beretta, who represents Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi (FART), which manages the Swiss side of the railway, while the Italian section is overseen by the Societa Subalpina di Imprese Ferroviarie (SSIF).

“In autumn — our Indian summer — when the colours change, this train is very busy. Everyone wants to ride it,” says Katja.

“But for me, now is the best time.”

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

It’s early spring, the bright, mild weather comes with colourful blooms and lofty peaks still drizzled in white powder. But every season, says Katja, brings its differing charms. Winter often has crisp blue skies with the snow-drenched scenery. By the Swiss summer, the snow has largely vanished but wildflowers thrive in the sun-splashed greenery.

Not just a tourist train, Katja tells me this is a lifeline for some of these remote villages with local passengers regularly hopping on and off, greeting one another with expressions like “Ciao, bella!”

New carriages are being rolled out on the line this year, making travel easier for those with wheelchairs and strollers.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Katja says goodbye (“ciao, ciao!”) at Camedo, a stop close to the Swiss-Italian border. This has historically been a hotspot for smugglers — including weapons and refugees in World War II — and is still technically subject to customs checks by officials. Despite Switzerland being part of the same Schengen travel zone as Italy, it’s not in the European Union and associated customs union.

Turns out neither my passport nor my bags are checked at this border or at any point on my return journey. I do, however, experience several other pulse-raising moments — the scenery is truly spectacular at times — but by and large, this a pleasingly relaxing route to ride, especially as the train doesn’t exceed 60km/h.

If you pressed me, my favourite bit is probably the approach from Locarno to Intragna, a village that rises from a rocky spur at the confluence of two rivers. Here the highest church belltower in Ticino grabs your attention along with an adjacent steel viaduct that’s perched 80m above a gorge. Two thirds of the railway is on the Italian side, including the highest portion — at Santa Maria Maggiore, something of an artists’ haven sitting 836m above sea level.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

There’s another glimmer of excitement as we gradually descend almost 600m as Domodossola appears in the distance. In the Piedmont region of Italy, close to the dramatic Simplon (Sempione) Pass, it has a backdrop of craggy peaks and though its population is less than 20,000, it looks like a big city compared to most of the villages we’ve passed today. I’m ready to stretch my legs now before my return ride to Locarno later this afternoon.

Spoiler alert: Domodossola is a charming place for a wander and a cappuccino and I’ll tell you about this gem of a town another day.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

+ Steve McKenna was a guest of Ticino Tourism and Switzerland Tourism. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.

fact file

+ The fare for Locarno-Domodossola is €20 ($35) one way, €30 ($53) return per person. There are roughly eight services a day in both directions. You can ride up to the Italian border free with a Ticino Ticket, which provides complimentary travel on the region’s public transport and is given to guests who stay overnight in Ticino. You get a 20 per cent discount on the fare for the Italian section. See

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

+ For more information on planning a trip in Ticino and across Switzerland, see

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

and

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Steve #McKenna #enjoys #ride #Swiss #Centovalli #Railway

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

For verified travel tips and real support, visit: https://hopzone.eu/