ITALY: The northeastern section of a rail link between Busto Arsizio, Milano Malpensa airport and Gallarate was inaugurated on January 22 as part of an ongoing programme of investment to better connect the airport with its hinterland in Lombardia and across the nearby border with Switzerland.
The latest package of works has focused on creating a loop to serve the airport’s two rail stations. The previous airport branch first opened in the late 1990s has been extended from the current terminus at Terminal 2 to a junction near Gallarate; this 4·6 km long double-track chord runs partially in tunnel. Still to be completed is a second element, consisting of a 1·1 km spur off this line running northwest towards Sesto Calende, creating a triangular junction.
Known as the Ferrovia T2 Malpensa-Sempione (Simplon), the new link significantly expands the airport’s catchment area, making Malpensa more easily accessible from the Swiss canton of Ticino. The fastest journey time between Lugano and Malpensa Terminal 2 is now 1 h 26 min, compared with 2 h 9 min for a journey between Lugano and Zürich’s main airport.
The T2 Malpensa-Sempione project is being delivered by Ferrovienord, the regional railway infrastructure manager, in co-operation with airport operator SEA. The main contractor for the northern section was a consortium led by SALC.
Construction began in early 2023, with a total investment of €264·5m. Of this, €98m was provided by the Lombardia provincial government, €63·4m by the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility, €55·9m by the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and €1m by SEA. The Italian government has had to contribute a further €46·2m to cover price adjustments, with the scheme now expected to cost €264m rather than the €160m initially budgeted.
The northern section includes seven tunnels with a combined length of 1·9 km, as well as 1·2 km of cuttings. The infrastructure also features four underpasses, three overpasses, seven emergency exits and several technical facilities including an electrical substation at the Cardano junction.
Olympic arrows
Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa high speed trains will serve Malpensa Airport at weekends during the Milano–Cortina Winter Olympic Games in February and March 2026, and from January 23 all Trenord’s Malpensa Express services departing from Milano Centrale will run beyond the airport stations to Gallarate, with a 30 min headway for most of the day.
From Milano Cadorna, two trains per hour will continue to operate to the airport throughout the day; these services will terminate at T2. Journey times are 8 min between T2 and Gallarate, and 15 min between T1 and Gallarate.
Speaking at the inauguration, Lombardia President Attilio Fontana said that ‘as a region, we have strongly believed in this project, both by allocating significant resources and by undertaking the political and institutional work necessary to secure funding and support from the European Union as well’.
Andrea Gibelli, President of Lombardia’s railway holding group FNM, added that ‘the inauguration of the new link between Malpensa Terminal 2 station and the Simplon line will further integrate the Lombardia rail network with the airport, expanding the intermodal transport offer for passengers and laying the foundations for new connections to Switzerland’.
He noted that the project was made possible ‘thanks to the excellent collaboration between FNM Group companies, SEA, the state and local authorities, under the coordination of the Lombardia region. This synergy made it possible to complete the project on schedule and inaugurate it ahead of the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.’
