The Genoa–Milan railway is a major Italian rail line, connecting the cities of
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
and
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
. It is long and fully
electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...
at 3,000 V
DC. Passenger traffic is managed by
Trenitalia
Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...
.
History
Unlike the
Turin-Genoa line, the Milan-Genoa line was not built as a single project. Instead it developed from the joining of different lines by a shortcut. The first part of the line from Milan to Genoa is the section from
Milano Rogoredo to
Pavia
Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086.
The city was a major polit ...
, which was opened on 10 May 1862 as a branch off the line from
Milano Centrale
Milano Centrale () is the main railway station of the city of Milan, Italy, and is the second busiest railway station in Italy for passenger flow (after Roma Termini) and the largest railway station in Europe by volume.
The station is a terminu ...
to
Piacenza
Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...
, opened on 14 November 1861. Earlier, on 25 January 1858, the
Alessandria
Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...
-
Tortona
Tortona (; , ; ) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Spinetta Marengo, Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. Its ''frazione'' of ...
-
Voghera
image:Voghera Castle.jpg, The Castle of Voghera in a 19th-century etching.
Voghera (Emilian dialect, Vogherese dialect of Emilian: ''Vughera''; Latin language, Latin: ''Forum Iulii Iriensium'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Pavia i ...
-
Casteggio
Casteggio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 61 km south of Milan and about 25 km south of Pavia. As of 31 July 2010, it had a population of 6,537 and an area of 17.8 ...
line opened to the public along with the connection between Tortona and
Novi Ligure
Novi Ligure (; , ; , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) north of Genoa, in the province of Alessandria, in the Italian region of Piedmont.
The town produces food, iron, steel, and textiles. It is an important junction for both road and railroad ...
, providing good connections to the by now completed Turin-Genoa line. On 14 November 1867 the opening to traffic of the rail link from Pavia to Voghera completed the link between Milan and Genoa.
The section between Genoa and Novi Ligure over the
Giovi Pass
The Giovi Pass ( ; ) is a pass in Italy in the northwestern Ligurian Apennines north of Genoa.
Geography
The pass is at 472 metres (1,548 feet).
A railroad from Genoa to Turin and Milan runs through the pass via a tunnel that is 1,686 metres ...
used by both the Turin-Genoa and the Milan-Genoa lines, however, was extremely difficult and therefore a new link between
Arquata Scrivia
Arquata Scrivia (local dialect: ''Auquâ'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria.
Arquata Scrivia borders the following ...
and Tortona was built which was opened on 1 October 1916, completing the current form of the line, except for improvements made in Genoa and the deviation opened in 2007 between Milan Rogoredo and Locate Triulzi replacing the 1862 route.
High speed line
The
Tortona–Genoa high-speed railway
The Tortona–Genoa high-speed railway, also known as Third Pass (), will be a railway in Italy designed for high-speed, high-capacity services linking Genoa to Tortona around to the north. The railway will form part of the Rhine–Alpine corri ...
(also known as the "third Giovi pass") project has been under development to bypass the mountainous and more congested southern section of the line since 1991. this line is forecast to open in 2026.
See also
*
List of railway lines in Italy
This is a list of all railway lines in Italy.
Active lines
Managed by Ferrovie dello Stato
High–speed lines
* Turin–Milan
* Milan–Verona (under construction)
* Verona–Venice (under construction)
* Venice–Trieste (planning p ...
References
Footnotes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Milan-Genoa railway
Railway lines in Liguria
Railway lines in Lombardy
Railway lines in Piedmont
Railway lines opened in 1867