“Hostages for one hour on a train that broke down at the border”

In the dark and the cold, without moving. On Thursday, 1 March, commuters were left stationary on a train that goes between Como and Varese.

“I left Como at 12.14 for Arcisate, a journey that normally lasts half an hour,” said lawyer Alan Breda, who was on board.

Before the station of Gaggiolo, 500 metres from the border, “The train suddenly stopped. There was no power, everything went off. ‘Five minutes and we’ll repair the fault,’ the guard said.” But those 5 minutes turned into 10, then 20, and in the end, more than an hour.

“An hour and a quarter later, we were told that the train wouldn’t continue and that a locomotive was on its way to take us back to the station of Mendrisio.” This was adding insult to injury for the commuters, who wanted to go in the opposite direction. “In the meantime, a number of Swiss firefighters also arrived, and they drove some passengers to Stabio. And from there, we called family and friends to come and collect us. By car.”