Italy's Iconic Train-Ferry Crossing Threatened by Proposed €13.5bn Bridge

As of October 25th, 2025, Italy's sleeper train from Milan to Sicily still ends with a rare rail-ferry crossing across the Strait of Messina. This centuries-old ritual, governed by strong tidal currents, is now under threat from a proposed €13.5bn suspension bridge.

Every morning, passengers aboard the Intercity Notte train watch as their carriages are split, shunted onto the ferry's tracks, and carried across the strait to the city of Messina before being reassembled for the final journey to Palermo or Syracuse. This "small engineering choreography" connects two shores and two worlds, transporting students, workers, families, and tourists who choose the slow pace of the night train.

However, the Italian government has recently revived long-standing plans to build one of the world's most ambitious engineering projects - a vast suspension bridge spanning the strait. Supporters view it as progress, but critics warn it could drain resources from southern Italy's more urgent infrastructure needs. Whether or not the bridge is ever constructed, the proposal has already cast a shadow over this poetic and ritualised journey, threatening to end a unique connection between land and sea.