mobile

Am going by train from France to Ventimiglia . Notice that Ventimiglia is offering two stations. Ventimiglia \frontier, and Ventimiglia Statzione. Which station is best for the town centre etc. many thanks

GeoffHamer

There is only one station in Ventimiglia and always has been. Where do you get the idea there are two?

mobile

scnf booking site supplied the two station names

londonlad

rest assured, there is only one station!

if u are coming from the french side, they may refer to the station as ventimilia/frontier.

ira

Hi M,

I could swear I answered this question before.

There used to be a frontier stop at Ventimiglia (fr). I don't think that trains stop there anymore.

You want Ventimiglia Stazione if you are going into town.

mobile

thanks Ira, yours sounds the most likely answer

PalQ

I think both stations are in the same building. when you take a train that terminates in Ventimiglia you pass thru a frontier french police post to the 'french' station from where the Cote d'Azur metro takes you to Nice or mainline French trains that terminate at Ventimiglia and then go back west. Customs often don't exist here anymore but i've seen checks when going between the 'two stations' which for practical purposes are one - and in fact may be one now that borders have been abolished between these two EU countries.

ira

Hi PALQ,

The Michelin map shows Ventimiglia about 6 km East of the border.

GeoffHamer

Ventimiglia was the station where passport and customs controls were carried out, but these have been abolished by the Schengen agreement. Both the station and the town are actually in Italy.
I suspect Ventimiglia Frontier is a notional point for international ticketing: if someone perhaps has a rail pass for Italy and is travelling into France, they need to buy a ticket from the frontier rather than from Ventimiglia station (even though trains do not stop at the actual frontier).

ira

Hi Geoff,

I think that, once upon a time, the train did stop at the frontier to allow Immigration agents on board.

PalQ

Just two years ago i was going from Florence to Nice and the Italian train terminated at Ventimiglia, which indeed seems to be six miles from the actual frontier and we had to walk thru a French douanes police gauntlet where some people were indeed stopped and inspected for whatever reason -- Schengen accord or not. It's my understanding that France and other Schengen countries are monotoring borders again and stopping suspicious types. Indeed my son recently was thoroughly searched on a train entering France from Belgium, two Schengen countries - he was coming from amsterdam and they routinely search young travelers on trains from Holland.
this is why i said i thought there may be a French station inside the Ventimiglia station, much like there is a French station in both the Geneva and Basel train stations - those are clearly labeled SNCF gares. Now i'm thinking the Ventimiglia Frontier probably was a station actually on the frontier that is no longer used - but custom inspectors, French ones, hang out in the Ventimiglia station, which, for practical purposes seems to signal that technically you're entering French jurisdiction.