Cisalpino

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A Cisalpino ETR 470.

Interior of the 2nd class cars.

Cisalpino AG is a railway company operating high-speed trains that interconnects Basel, Geneva, Zürich, Milan, Venice, Trieste and Florence. The company has its legal seat in Muri bei Bern, Switzerland, and is jointly owned by the Swiss Federal Railways, BLS and Trenitalia.

Train maintenance is carried out in Milan by the Italian railway operator Trenitalia and in Switzerland. Trains are staffed with personnel from Trenitalia, as well as the Swiss (Swiss Federal Railways), while the catering is operated by the Italian company Cremonini S.p.A of Rome. Ticket sales are from the three operators and travel agencies.

Since 2005, the company operates all passenger connections between Italy and Switzerland, with the exception of night trains.

The company uses Italian tilting trains, (colloquially known as "Pendolino") ETR 470, with a maximum speed of 200 km/h. A batch of 14 ETR 610 tilting trains has been ordered in 2004 from Alstom (former Fiat Ferroviaria).

Cisalpino operates on three lines, each passing through one or more of the major rail tunnels through the Swiss Alps:

Due to continuing problems with timeliness, maintenance and cleanliness of the trains, service between Zürich and Stuttgart was discontinued in mid-December 2006. The line is now served by ICE-T trains instead.

Cisalpino trains have two classes. In first class, power plugs are available. The Cisalpino train includes a dining car. Reservations are recommended. For international trips, a surcharge is to be paid along with the reservation. Bicycles cannot be conveyed.

[edit] Note

In addition to the tilting train described by this article, Cisalpino AG operates several other trains using conventional (non-tilting) technology. These are operated under the EuroCity and InterCity categories and carry the Cisalpino name as well.

Cisalpino AG has ordered 14 new seven-car tilting train sets, ETR-610, planned for partial delivery by the end of 2007 along with the commissioning of the new Lötschberg Base Tunnel.