MilanoCentrale  | |||||
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 Main entrance portico on Piazza Duca d'Aosta, 2022 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Piazza Duca d'Aosta 20124Milan Italy | ||||
| Coordinates | 45°29′10″N09°12′13″E / 45.48611°N 9.20361°E /45.48611; 9.20361 | ||||
| Owned by | Rete Ferroviaria Italiana | ||||
| Operated by | Grandi Stazioni | ||||
| Line(s) | |||||
| Tracks | 24 | ||||
| Connections |
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| Construction | |||||
| Architect | Ulisse Stacchini | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| IATA code | XIK[1] | ||||
| Fare zone | STIBM: Mi1[2] | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 1 July 1931; 93 years ago (1931-07-01) | ||||
| Electrified | 1938 (1938) | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 120 million per year | |||||
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Milano Centrale (Italian:Stazione di Milano Centrale) is the mainrailway station of the city ofMilan,Italy, and is the second busiest railway station in Italy for passenger flow[3] (afterRoma Termini) and the largest railway station in Europe by volume.[4]
The station is a terminus and located at the northern end of central Milan. It was officially inaugurated in 1931 to replace the old central station (built 1864), which was a transit station that could not handle the increased traffic caused by the opening of theSimplon Tunnel in 1906 due to the old station's limited number of tracks and space.
Milano Centrale hashigh-speed connections toTurin in the west,Venice via Verona in the east and on the north–south mainline toBologna,Rome,Naples andSalerno. The Simplon and Gotthard railway lines connect Milano Centrale toBasel andGeneva viaDomodossola andZürich viaChiasso in Switzerland.
Destinations of inter-city and regional railways radiate from Milano Centrale to Ventimiglia (border of France), Genova, Turin, Domodossola (border of Swiss Canton of Valais/Wallis), Tirano (border of Swiss Canton of Graubünden/Grisons), Bergamo, Verona, Mantova, Bologna and La Spezia.
TheMilan suburban railway service, however, does not use Milano Centrale but the other mainline stations:Porta Garibaldi (northwest),Cadorna (west) andRogoredo (east).
ArchitectAldo Rossi declared in an interview of February 1995 to Cecilia Bolognesi:[5] "They told me that whenFrank Lloyd Wright came to Milan, and he came only once, he was really impressed by it and said it was the most beautiful station in the world. For me it is also more beautiful thanGrand Central Station inNew York. I know few stations like this one".
The first Milano Centrale station opened in 1864 in the area now occupied by thePiazza della Repubblica, south of the modern station.[6] It was designed by French architectLouis-Jules Bouchot[7] (1817–1907) and its architectural style was reminiscent of Parisian buildings of that period. The station was designed to replacePorta Tosa station (opened in 1846 as the terminus of the line toTreviglio and eventuallyVenice) andPorta Nuova station (opened in 1850 as the second terminus on theline to Monza, which was eventually extended toChiasso) and was interconnected with all lines, either existing or under construction, surrounding Milan. It remained in operation until 30 June 1931, when the current station was opened. There is now no trace of the old station left.
KingVictor Emmanuel III of Italy laid the cornerstone of the new station on 28 April 1906, before a blueprint for the station had even been chosen. The last, real, contest for its construction was won in 1912 byarchitectUlisse Stacchini, who titled his project "In Motu Vita," meaning "Life in Motion" in Latin.[8] His proposal was given unanimous approval by the commission gathered to judge the competition.[8] The purported style was an eclectic mix called "Assyrian-Lombard."[9]
Due to the Italian economic crisis duringWorld War I, construction proceeded very slowly. Stacchini made multiple revisions to the project, mainly to quell concerns by the Milan city government about high construction costs.[10]Benito Mussolini's ascention to the position ofPrime Minister was the catalyst behind the resumption of work in 1925, as multiple public works projects were accelerated in order to bolster the reception of the Fascist government's ability to effectively manage national projects.[11] The major changes were the newplatform types and the introduction of the great steelcanopies by Alberto Fava; 341 m (1,119 ft) long and covering an area of 66,500 square metres (716,000 sq ft).
Construction resumed in 1925, and on 1 July 1931 the station was officially opened in the presence of Foreign MinisterGaleazzo Ciano.[12]
The station played a major role during theHolocaust in Italy, when Jewish inmates from theSan Vittore Prison, previously captured in northern Italy, would be taken to a secret track,Binario 21, underneath the station to be deported to extermination camps. Altogether, 15deportation trains with 1,200 prisoners left the station fromBinario 21. AMemoriale della Shoah was opened at the former platform in January 2013 to commemorate these events.[13][14]
Its façade is 200 metres (660 ft) wide and its vault is 72 metres (236 ft) high, a record when it was built. It has 24 platforms. Each day about 330,000 passengers use the station, totaling about 120 million per year.
The station has no definite architectural style, but is a blend of many different styles, especiallyLiberty andArt Deco, but not limited to those. It is adorned with numerous sculptures. "The 'incongruous envelope of stone' (Attilio Pracchi) of this gigantic and monumental building dominates Piazza Duca d'Aosta."[15]
On 25 September 2006 officials announced a€100 million project, already in progress, to refurbish the station. Of the total cost, €20 million has been allocated to restore "certain areas of high artistic value" while the remaining €80 million will be used for more general improvements to the station to make it more functional with the current railway services. The project includes moving the ticket office and installing new elevators and escalators for increased accessibility.[16]
There remain unrestored and inaccessible areas to the public within the station, including a waiting room withswastikas on the floor designed to receiveAdolf Hitler.[9]
_-_BEIC_6330877.jpg)
The station has 24 tracks. Every day about 320,000 passengers pass through the station using about 500 trains, for an annual total of 120 million passengers. The station is served by national and international routes, with both long-distance and regional lines. Daily international destinations includeBasel,Lugano,Geneva,Zürich,Paris,Vienna,Marseille andMunich.[17] The station is also connected toMilan-Malpensa Airport through theMalpensa Express airport train.
The following services call at the station (incomplete):
For regional (Regio) trains toMonza andComo from Milano Centrale, refer to the 'cross-border' services. There is no train ofMilan Suburban railway service at Milano Centrale station, except for two late night S8 trains bound to Lecco, which serve the last passengers arriving to the station with long distance train.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2018) |
(CH for Switzerland, D for Germany, A for Austria, MN for Monaco)
The following train has been moved to stop atMilano Lambrate railway station andMilano Porta Garibaldi railway station in 2020:
This train connects at Verona with ÖBB Nightjet/EuroNight Rome-Vienna: the train splits into two parts (first half couples with ÖBB Rome-Vienna and leaves for Vienna or Rome; second half continues to Munich or Milan). Vienna-Rome splits into two trains (first half continues to Rome or Vienna; second half couples with the train for Milan or Munich).
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2018) |
After the opening ofGotthard Base Tunnel in December 2016, train services between Milan and Switzerland increased in frequency. AllSBB-CFF-FSS Eurocity (operates by Trenitalia in Italy) now save 35 minutes of total journey time between Bellinzona and Arth-Goldau.
From December 2017, a new cross-border serviceMilan-Frankfurt (Trenitalia-DB-SBB Eurocity) via Zürich will be operational.
From December 18, 2021, a new service Paris-Milan with Frecciarossa is opened.
The station is the terminus of theMilan–Paris Frecciarossa,[18][19] which was inaugurated on 18 December 2021.[18][20]
| Preceding station | Trenitalia | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Frecciarossa | Milano Rogoredo | ||
| Torino Porta Nuova towardsNapoli Centrale | Terminus | |||
| Terminus | Brescia | |||
| Parma towardsBari Centrale orTaranto | ||||
| Pavia towardsNice-Ville | Thello | Terminus | ||
| Terminus | Intercity Notte | toward Lecce | ||
toward Lecce | ||||
toward Torino Porta Nuova | Treno regionale | Terminus | ||
| Preceding station | EuroCity | Following station | ||
| Gallarate towardsBasel SBB | EuroCity | Terminus | ||
| Gallarate towardsGenève-Cornavin | Brescia towardsVenezia Santa Lucia | |||
| Terminus | ||||
| Preceding station | Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori | Following station | ||
| Torino Porta Susa towardsTorino Porta Nuova | Torino–Salerno | Milano Rogoredo towardsSalerno | ||
| Trenord | ||||
| Treno regionale | Terminus | |||
| Terminus | toward Verona Porta Nuova | |||
toward Bergamo | ||||
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The station, along withRoma Termini andFirenze Santa Maria Novella, has security gates, normally free flowing, though supervised by agents.
Each platform is usually dedicated to some particular route. The current organization is as follows, although temporary changes may occur.
On the northern side of the railway yard, there used to be a loop curve so that trains could turn around and reverse back into the station. The trains could so be displaced from the left side of the station to the right side and vice versa without crossing all the tracks. The tracks on the loop curve are now partially broken up.[21]
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