It operates primarily in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Piedmont and in Canton Ticino in southern Switzerland.
Listed on the Borsa Italiana, its main shareholders are the Lombardy Region (57.57%), Ferrovie dello Stato (14.5%) and Aurelia S.p.A. (3%).
Five years later the consortium was joined by Società per le Ferrovie del Ticino, who held the Como-Malnate-Varese-Laveno and Saronno-Malnate lines.
Until the end of the century FNM also acquired the lines Novara-Seregno and Saronno-Grandate, forming a large network in northern Lombardy in direct competition with the Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo.
Since 1993, FERROVIENORD (through LeNord and NordCargo) is managing the Brescia-Iseo-Edolo railway branch, not connected to the main group of lines, centered in the Milan area.