The Ceneri tunnel brings Locarno and Bellinzona closer together

On completion of the final work on the railway between Contone and Tenero, on 5 April 2021, the full range of services planned for the opening of the Ceneri Base Tunnel will start running. The RE80 service is being extended and the new S90 line is going into service.

These are the changes coming into force on 5 April 2021:

RE80: New full Locarno-Lugano-Chiasso-Milan Central service

The new RE80 fast connections introduced on 13 December 2020 are being extended, with trains every 30 minutes between Locarno and Chiasso. Every hour, the journeys are being extended to and from Milan Central Station. Thanks to the Camorino siding and the Ceneri base tunnel, the journey time between Locarno and Lugano will be approximately 30 minutes, without changes.

Trains run from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., stopping at Tenero, Gordola, Riazzino, Cadenazzo, Sant’Antonino, Lugano, Lugano-Paradiso, Mendrisio, Chiasso, Como S. Giovanni, Albate-Camerlata, Seregno and Monza.

The RE80 line replaces the RE10 line between Milan Central and Lugano. For time-saving travel between Lugano and Bellinzona, via the Ceneri base tunnel, there are the S10/S50, EC and IC trains.

S10: Biasca-Bellinzona-Lugano-Chiasso-Como S. Giovanni

The new terminus of the S10 line is now in Biasca, instead of Bellinzona.

Trains run every 30 minutes, from 4.30 a.m. to 1 a.m. At peak times, some serves extend to/from Airolo. All trains between 6 a.m. and midnight run through the Ceneri base tunnel, which saves around 15 minutes between Lugano and Bellinzona. Departure times have been partially changed.

The S10/S50 routes continue to run together between Biasca and Mendrisio. The stops on the Ceneri mountain section are served by the new S90 service.

 

S90: New Giubiasco-Lugano-Mendrisio service, via the Ceneri mountain section

This new line runs between Giubiasco and Lugano. It is being introduced to continue to serve the stations on the Ceneri mountain section.

Trains run every 30 minutes, from 6 a.m. to midnight, and stop at the stations of Rivera-Bironico, Mezzovico, Taverne-Torricella and Lamone-Cadempino.

The S90 services are being extended every hour to/from Mendrisio, stopping at Lugano-Paradiso, Melide, Maroggia-Melano, Capolago-Riva S. Vitale and Mendrisio S.Martino.

 

S20: Castione-Arbedo-Bellinzona-Locarno

The S20 line has a new terminus at Castione-Arbedo, instead of Biasca, which is served by the S10/S50 connections.

Trains run every 30 minutes, from 4.30 a.m. to 1.00 a.m. Departure times have been changed.

S30: Cadenazzo-Luino-Gallarate

At Cadenazzo, thanks to the Ceneri base tunnel, connections to/from Lugano, Bellinzona and Locarno are being optimised, with significant gains in travel times.

Trains run every two hours, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Until December 2021, the major renovation work will continue on the line between Cadenazzo and Luino, with bus replacement services, from Monday to Friday, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. In addition, from 6 April to 6 May, the line will be completely interrupted, and there will be a bus replacement service.

 

S50: Biasca-Bellinzona-Lugano-Varese-Malpensa

S40: Como-Mendrisio-Varese

The new terminus of the S50 line is in Biasca, instead of Bellinzona.

The S50 trains run every 60 minutes, from 4.30 a.m. to 1 a.m. All of the trains between 6 a.m. and midnight go through the Ceneri base tunnel, which means a time saving of around 15 minutes between Lugano and Bellinzona. Departure times have been partially changed.

S40 services run every 60 minutes, from Monday to Saturday, from 5.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. The departure times have been partially changed.

The S10/S50 routes continue to run together between Biasca and Mendrisio. In the Lugano-Varese-Como triangle, it is still possible to travel every 30 minutes, thanks to the Mendrisio interchange.

In view of the major changes, we advise all travellers to check their connections on the online timetable, by entering a date after 5 April 2021.

For more information on the timetable changes:

• FFS online timetable
• New Ceneri base tunnel timetable, valid from 5 April 2021 (PDF, 421 KB)
• The TILO regional railway timetable, valid from 5 April 2021 (PDF, 1935 KB)
• Service plan, valid from 5 April 2021 (PDF, 473 KB)

 

Translated by Chiara Brovelli, Mariachiara Bignoli  and Denise Mura

Reviewed by Prof. Rolf Cook