The Faentina line once departed from tracks 15 and 16 at Santa Maria Novella station along the Florence-Rome line to the “Pellegrino” junction where the Faenza railway began. Today the train leaves Santa Maria Novella station in Florence from tracks 17 and 18. It exits Florence, moving north towards San Marco Vecchio (some trains go to Campo di Marte), and coasting the Mugnone River, past the 16th century Villa Salviati, on the hill on the left, and the Etruscan town of Fiesole on the right.
The line then moves through the suggestive landscape of the Apennines. It travels through the tunnels of “Monterinaldi” and “Spiccarello”, just under Fiesole, past Pian di Mugnone and to the Caldine/Fiesole station.
The line then goes through the S. Andrea a Sveglia tunnel, which curves left, and then through the 3,584.30 metre long tunnel under Pratolino, which is the second longest tunnel of the Faentina line, coming directly after the Allocchi tunnel.
The line exits the tunnel at the village of Fontebuona in the narrow Carza River valley. The railway passes the Vaglia and San Piero a Sieve stations and crosses the river Sieve, entering the heart of Mugello.
The line cuts the main road that goes to Scarperia-Il Giogo-Imola and coasts this road on the left of the river until it reaches the station of Borgo San Lorenzo.