We are arriving in Tirano Sunday, June 18 at 11:30AM on the Bernina Express and are planning to connect to Trenitalia to Milan (and then to LIN to fly to Bari). I stumbled onto the news of the landslide near Varenna interrupting rail service.
The Trenitalia website has the following schedule: Train to Colico - bus to Lecco - train to Milan.
Is there any information as to when the blockage will be repaired and normal service resumed?
A temporary track could be restored any day (a week ago they said at the beginning of June), but it may be deemed too risky for ordinary passenger service. They will likely use it only to forward a few empty trains to the north section of the line that the landslide left with too few trains for the ordinary service. During this time the bus will link Colico to Lecco without stopping in Varenna; also, only few buses are available for this service. There is no set date for resuming passenger service on the whole line.
Thanks for the update.
Starting June 11, Trenitalia is showing a one-change route, by Trenord bus from Tirano to Sondrio, and regional train from there to Milan. Total time 2 hours 44 minutes.
Thank you for your response.
I’m confused. Isn’t the blockage near Varenna? Why the bus at the beginning of the trip?
We arrive Tirano on the Bernina Express at 11:32 on Sunday 6/18/2023. I assume we can catch the 7827A bus to Sondrio? Then transfer to 2827 to Milan. Where will the bus be leaving from in Tirano? Will our Eurail Passes be honored for this trip to Milan? Do we need reservations?
I like this proposed change - we have been looking forward to the train trip along the shoreline of Lake Como.
Thanks again.
rjtrane, the main road may be reopened any time between today and the 16th. You are anxiously looking for answers that could be outdated on the 18th. Same for trains.
If Tirano is the only Italian town where buses do not stop in front of the railway station, somebody there will point you in the right direction. It's a small place.
Well before the landslide it was decided that the Tirano-Sondrio stretch would be closed between June 11th and September 10th. They want to seriously renovate the line before the 2026 Winter Olympics.
IMHO the website displays this expected course of events without considering the landslide problem. If you read papers, they expect the landslide interruption to be solved not before June 15th:
https://www.laprovinciadisondrio.it/stories/sondrio-e-cintura/treni-almeno-venti-giorni-di-disagi_1494478_11/
(if you have to travel on June 18th, that not before 15th is a very close call)
Present instructions around the landslide and timetable (in Italian), including bus and ferry (nave) alternatives:
I’ll be curious to see what happens. Our travel dates are fixed with a connection in Milan flying out of LIN.
Right now, the temporary schedule is train-bus-train and should be OK. But if the tunnel is not passable by the 18th and work has commenced on the rail between Tirano and Sondrio, I’d guess Trenitalia will have a bus to Lecco then train to Milan?
I’ve asked on their website about schedules, reservations & using a Eurail Pass - waiting on an answer.
Wondering where are you coming from, if you end in Tirano. If you are coming from Chur or St. Moritz, you could consider also the Swiss postbus Chur-Bellinzona and then frequent trains to Milano. Yes, I understand you are doing the Bernina trip for the landscape, but it looks like is getting complex.
We are coming from St. Moritz. Good idea to skip the Bernina Express and take the bus. I’ll check out schedules.
If so, you could consider train St.Moritz-Thusis over the Albula pass, bus Thusis-Bellinzona over the St. Bernardino pass and then train to Milan. I believe you would not need to go all the way to Chur and could change in Thusis that is slightly faster. Albula and St. Bernardino are not as scenic as Bernina but still have some scenic interest; Albula has the historic Landwasser viaduct, and I still wonder how they managed to put an highway over the very steep descent from St. Bernardino.
A more difficult approch could be post bus St.Moritz-Chiavenna over the Maloja pass, train Chiavenna-Colico, but then in Colico you woudl be still exposed to the landslide problem around Varenna.
I am taking the path of least resistance - I booked 2 tickets on the Trenitalia app for the trip Tirano-Milano Centrale. It’s been confirmed.My guess is if the track is not open, bus transport will be provided.
I am hoping to reserve seats on the train portion, assuming there will be one.
Even when Tirano-Milano is working regularly, it is only run with regional trains, no place reservations.
Got it. No reservations. That explains why I can’t make reservations. Thanks for the clarification
Any idea where the bus will board in Tirano?
