Tucked away in the Adda Valley close to the Swiss border, the town of Tirano is unremarkable except for one thing: its trains, which even run through the busy streets of Tirano. The town would never have made it onto the tourist map of Italy were it not for its link with Switzerland via the famous Bernina Railway.

This small town has two railway stations. There is a standard-gauge Italian station from where Trenord trains leave every hour or two for Milan. Then just a few metres away is the terminus of the narrow-gauge Rhaetian Railway, from where trains regularly depart for the steep climb up over the Bernina Pass to reach the Engadine region of eastern Switzerland. Most of these services run to St Moritz, but one train each day continues to Chur. In summer there is also a direct service from Tirano to Davos.

Tirano also has some very useful bus links. There is a year-round service to nearby Edolo with an onward train connection to Iseo and Brescia. From late March to late October, Rhaetian Railway offers a daily express coach from Tirano to Lugano in Switzerland, on which some rail tickets are valid.