Train Services Stopped Between Switzerland and Italy

8th December 2020

Last modified on May 13th, 2021

Swiss Federal Railways has said that the connections would be halted at the border crossings in the Alps as its staff simply did not have the capacity to carry out the coronavirus checks required by Italian authorities.

Swiss Federal Railways, SBB, has said the trains will stop this Thursday

The new rules include temperature checks.

The trains will travel to the Swiss/Italian border in the Alps and then go no further.

The move affects dozens of daily routes on regional trains that connect the two countries, where many workers travel daily across the border from northern Italy to Switzerland.

It also affects long-distance trains including the ones between Milan and Frankfurt in Germany.

It is unclear how long the suspension will last.

SBB said it will refund people who have already bought tickets

New quarantine measures are coming into force for Italy, along with France, Austria and Germany, partly to prevent people going to Switzerland to ski over the Xmas holiday period.

Switzerland is keeping its ski resorts open, but says snowsports are for the “domestic market”.

Austria too will have skiing, but its restrictions are generally tighter than the Swiss rules and they have stressed it is for locals only with hotels, bars/restaurants and other facilities all shut.