Metro from Milan Linate airport to Milan Centrale train station

The fastest is with three trains and two changes at San Babila and at Loreto
M4 (Blue) to SAN BABILA
M1 (Red) to LORETO
M2 (Green) to CENTRALE

If you want to minimize train changes you can also do it with one change only, maybe slightly longer but less hassle.
M4 (Blue) to SANT’AMBROGIO
M2 (Green) to CENTRALE

https://metropolitanadimilano.it/linee-metro-milano.html#google_vignette

Make sure you take the trains to the right direction, which is indicated by the name of the last station in each respective direction. Check the map below.

However there are also buses or taxicabs that can take you directly to the Centrale station without much hassle, especially if you are traveling while lugging suitcases. The Air bus takes about 30 min. A taxi maybe 20 min. Since the metro is not affected by surface traffic, the metro is a bit faster, but the downside is that you need to schlep your luggage through escalators and on and off trains.

Thank you so much for this info! Awesome!!
I had figured on the 2 stop one you spoke of, but not the 3 stop. I guess it would matter on how much time we have after our plane arrives. Hopefully it will on time! Thank you for such detail too!! I will study the metro map as well. Thank you for the link you sent!

We land at 10 am and have a 12:10pm train. I’m worried I booked too early of a train. I think I can still change the train tickets. Do you think we can make it or should we get a later train? We are training to Levanto on an intercity train. With great appreciation, Monica

A 6-7 mile taxi ride seems like the simple solution.

Thank you! Yes, we have considered a taxi. There are four of us and then there’s luggage. We may need 2 taxis.

I have read that the airport shuttle bus has been unreliable, but have that option under consideration too.

Does anyone know of a good ride transfer company in Milan?

Thank you so much for your help, Monica

Linate is easy and fast. I presume you are coming from a Schengen country, so you don’t need passport control. From the time of hitting the tarmac to the time you are out of the terminal it shouldn’t be longer than 30-40 min. including baggage claim. Then you need half hour to the station, if you board a taxi, and another 10 min to walk to the proper platform. You don’t need a transfer company, just a regular taxi will do, there are plenty in front of the terminal. Some are minivans that can accommodate all of you plus luggage, so no need to have two taxicabs. If your plane is on time you should be on that platform before 11:30. The big unknown is always the timeliness of the flight. All it takes is a 30-40 min flight delay and you are risking to miss that train.

Dear Roberto, and Joe,

Thank you both for helping me to navigate our travel day!! This forum has been a blessing to us many times. Thank you to the Rick Steve’s travel friends.

Taxi it is! That helps to take the stress out of our arrival at Linate and getting to Milan Centrale train station.

Do you know if a Milan taxi takes a credit card or do we need Euros? Sorry, we haven’t used a taxi in Milan before. Thank you!

Also, I checked with FlightAware, and this flight has a very good on-time arrival record. We hope it will be the same for us.

We are very grateful! Thank you, kindly!

Happy travels,
Monica and family

Every merchant in Italy, by law, must accept card payments regardless of transaction amount.

Having said that taxi drivers in Italy are the most outrageous tax dodgers. Taxi drivers are entrepreneurs who are owners of the car and the taxi licenses that can be awarded to individuals only, not to companies. They all qualify for a special tax regime for small businesses that allows them to pay a flat 15% income tax as long as their annual revenue is under 85,000€. To stay under that limit and qualify for the tax advantage they try to get paid in hard cash as much as possible, and then, since cash is not traceable by the tax authorities, they don’t report that revenue. So don’t be surprised if the taxi drivers tell you that their credit card POS machine is momentarily “broken” and they cannot accept card payments. It’s a lie, but they often come up with that excuse, especially with foreigners who are unlikely to be under cover tax police (Guardia di Finanza) who could fine them just for coming up with that lie. So, if you don’t want to pay cash, make sure you tell the driver before hand that you don’t have euro cash with you and you need to pay with a card. He’ll likely agree, rather than see you go with the next cab in the queue. If you decide to pay cash, the fare is based on the meter (no flat fare for Linate) so it depends on the traffic, but it shouldn’t be more than 40€ even with heavier than usual traffic. WE ITALIANS DO NOT LEAVE TIPS TO TAXI DRIVERS, NOT EVEN A CENT. Leaving a tip to an Italian taxi drivers is like leaving a tip to a used car salesman or to the car dealer mechanics after they overcharge you for repairs that your car didn’t even need.

I presume you are coming from a Schengen country, so you don’t need passport control.

Monica has not identified where the flight originates. If from the UK or Ireland, Milan would be the Schengen entry point and necessitate passport control, which adds a wrinkle that has not been factored into the equation.

Thanks to you all! Wow!

What a resource!

Thank you Roberto for the taxi information! Very much appreciated and educating! 🙌. Thank you kindly for your help! All your info is super interesting! We will take a taxi with confidence thanks to you!

I’m sorry that I failed to say that we are flying from St. Louis, MO.,USA to Frankfurt, Germany and then onto Milan, Italy.

So yes, passport control will be in Germany. But I didn’t know that about the UK! Thank you for that information. Good to know as we are planning some other trips.

Thank you all for your willingness to help and your very timely replies!!

Happy travels,
Monica

I’m sorry. Thank you, Joe!