Paris to Milan in Just 6 Hours: High-Speed Rail Service Resumes for Tourists Following 19-Month Suspension Due to Landslide
The popular high-speed train service connecting Paris with Turin and Milan will reopen in March and April following a 19-month closure caused by a landslide that damaged a key tunnel. French railway operator SNCF and
The popular high-speed train service connecting Paris with Turin and Milan will reopen in March and April following a 19-month closure caused by a landslide that damaged a key tunnel. French railway operator SNCF and its Italian counterpart Trenitalia announced on Tuesday.
SNCF confirmed that services between Paris and Milan, which once allowed passengers to travel from a croissant breakfast in the French capital to a pasta lunch in Italy in just six to seven hours, will resume on March 31. Trenitalia, which competes with SNCF on the route, will restart its connections on April 1.
France-Italy Train Services Return
Trenitalia will offer two round trips daily on its high-speed Frecciarossa trains, while SNCF will operate three round trips per day on its French TGV service. To maintain some connectivity during the closure, SNCF launched a replacement bus service between Paris and Milan in January, providing one round trip daily.
Currently, passengers are required to take a bus between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France and Oulx in Italy, with the remainder of the journey completed on the TGV. This detour results in travel times of seven and a half to nine hours, compared to the original six to seven hours before the tunnel collapse.
Tunnel Collapse Challenges and Restoration
The disruption began after a massive landslide on August 27, 2023, when a section of cliff collapsed in the Maurienne Valley following heavy rainfall that followed a period of drought. Thousands of tons of rocks buried a 300-meter-long railway tunnel, causing significant infrastructure damage.
To restore the line, around 5,000 cubic meters of unstable rock had to be cleared, with some sections removed using helicopters for water drops or controlled explosions. The mountain was then secured, allowing for the network’s gradual restoration.
In regular operations, the railway line connecting France and Italy handles about 30 international freight trains daily, in addition to five to six high-speed round trips and local services to the Maurienne Valley.
