Italians riot on Cisalpino train

Two groups of young Italian tourists travelling from Zurich to Milan have been involved in a brawl which caused around SFr30,000 ($27,700) of damage.

The 18 Italian nationals, all aged 18-25, were among passengers on Monday’s 17.01 ETR 470, the characteristic slant-nosed tilting trains.

What precisely triggered the punch-up, which spread to three carriages, remains unclear, but at some point a fire extinguisher was let off – causing breathing problems for innocent bystanders. Otherwise no one was injured.

The train’s conductor called the police, who boarded the train in Erstfeld, canton Uri, resulting in a 90-minute delay.

The scufflers were charged with disrupting public transport and damage to property. The two groups were then sent on their way to Italy in separate trains.

Cisalpino is a daughter of the Swiss and Italian state railway companies and is responsible for the passenger service between the two countries.

swissinfo.ch and agencies