Milan Malpensa Airport to Milan Centrale train station

That is just under 2 hours, I would consider that tight, maybe not advisable.

Start with what is known, getting into the car on the curb, and getting out at the curb at Milano Centrale, is at best a 45 min drive, a bit more with traffic and dealing with the driver. Taking it back, just getting off the plane and maybe through Immigration (Is Milan your first stop in the Schengen Zone?), maybe waiting for bags is at best a half hour, leaving at very best case 15-30 minutes to find the train. Of course your plane may be earlier, or much later, traffic may cause issues, lines at Immigration, etc.

I would at least be tempted to focus on a later train, not have to rush or worry, and even get to the train station with enough time to have a coffee and a snack, maybe shop for something for the train.

Thanks so much, Paul! Do you think we would make the 11:20AM train? Yes, Milan is our 1st stop.

Dorcama,
It's generally not recommended to purchase your train tickets for the day of arrival mainly because one never knows how long it will take to go through Immigration/Passport check-point or if your flight will be delayed.

You may also consider taking the 'Malpensa Express' train directly from the airport to Milano Centrale (52 minutes) since taking a private car or taxi may be affected by street traffic.

There are trains traveling from Milano Centrale to Venice almost every hour & you can purchase your tickets at the airport.

Enjoy your trip!

The fare rules for the Italia Rail train are somewhat confusing

. You probably need to explain what you find confusing. Because the rules are pretty straight forward. I would not book a train till you are standing in the station. Not sure why you need a private car. The Malpensa Express actually works much better.

Thank you, Priscilla and Frank....

I was hoping to take advantage of the favorable prices on Italia Rail if I purchased the train tickets in advance.

We were interested in taking a private car as we have lots of bags and thought it might be more comfortable, rather than dragging our bags through the stations.

What I was confused about is if it is possible to use a high speed train ticket on the next train if I miss the earlier train. One person told me it would be a complete loss and another person told me I could change my ticket for the next scheduled train.

Looking at the current schedule, you really wouldn't want the 10:20 train anyway as it involves a connection at Bologna, so it costs more and takes 40 minutes longer than the frequent direct trains. The next train is 11:35. then the trains are every half hour until 1:05 pm. Instead of sweating the exact departure. just wait until you get to Centrale and buy tickets for the next train. That is the way I have done it.
BTW, why the private car transfer unless you have at least 4 people. The trains from the airport to Centrale go every half hour, by-pass any traffic, take 45 minute, costs 12 euro per person, and drop you inside the Centrale station at track level.

dorcama,

There's no way to predict whether you'll be able to arrive at Milano Centrale in time to connect with the 10:20 departure, as there are too many variables. It's generally not advisable to pre-purchase your ticket to Venice, as if you miss the train you've booked due to flight delays or whatever, the ticket is worthless and you'll have to buy another. The best method is to buy tickets at the airport rail station.

While you could take a "private car" from MXP to Milano Centrale, that's a less predictable method than using the Malpensa Express as a car is affected by traffic so the travel time is variable. As the others have mentioned, the M.E. departs every half hour and the travel time is a predictable ~52 minutes. One important point to note is the the M.E. has two destinations, Milano Centrale and Milano Cadorna, so travellers must ensure they're boarding the correct train.

Planning to connect with a departure on the 10:20 train to Venice is somewhat risky, and not something I'd suggest. It could take about an hour to deplane, collect your luggage, go through Passport control and get to the airport rail station. Add to that another hour for waiting and travel to Milan, which means you'd arrive at 10:25 just in time to watch your train disappear into the distance.

Your best source of information for trains in Italy is www.trenitalia.com (they have an English language option).

There are three fare levels, the cheapest ticket is absolutely not refundable and not changeable. The next level permits some changes for a fee. The highest cost level allows changes, but that is the price you will pay at the ticket window anyway.

An expired ticket must be exchanged for a valid one before you board, as the freccia trains have seat reservations included.

You can buy the ticket to Venezia when.you buy the ticket for the Malpensa Express. Milano Centrale is a big station but easy to navigate, just look for your track number.

I have only done it one time making it in under 2 hours from plane to train. We landed at 8:30 and was at the train station at 10:15 (I keep good notes on times for everything i do). I fly into Milan at lot and am used to the airport and know where stuff is and we were walking quickly. I only had a carry-on, and were were 2 rows from the door. There was 10 people get off the plane before we did. We also got lucky in the immigration line as there was no immigration lines. I've seen other planes passengars landing around our time in the past and a long line for immigration. This trip only 2 folks were in front of us at the line and they walked faster then we did. We also didn't wait long for the MXP train to Centrele, only a few minutes before it departed. If there was a casino I would have stopped and placed a bet. It was flawless off the plane. My worst was 3.5 hours.

We did this in June. Arrived around 8am and had a 10:30am train to Venice. It's hit or miss...the timing to get out of the airport.

I arrived on a Sunday morning and was the 2nd guy through customs. It was the fastest ever....the customs agent stared at me for about 3 seconds and let me through. Of course, I also lugged my luggage in my backpack and was flying business class at the front of the plane...so I was one of the first to be off the plane and didn't have to wait for the luggage to be delivered to the carousels.

Also, the Malapensa train was waiting downstairs after I quickly purchased a ticket.

I would definitely suggest taking the train. It's within the airport and super easy to do. Just make sure you validate your ticket with the stamp machine (yellow box) before you get on the train.

I think we had about an hour in Milano Centrale to kick around until our 10:30 train.

Most likely...I would suggest pushing the train to Venice back a little....just to be safe. But definitely use the train. It's fast.

It's a gamble....you don't know.

I flew into MXP and booked a Trenitalia train to Salerno in advance with a 3hr spread from the scheduled arrival time.

Plane left JFK 1 HR late. Jetstream had us touching down within a few mins of on time. It was on an A380 and was pretty far back. One daughter had a meltdown before customs and needed to hit the rest room. Passport control took an honest 30 mins. Luggage was there within a few mins. Got a SIM card. There was no customs to speak of. Went to Malpensa Express. Waited 15 mins. Took train to Centrale. And made it on my Trenitalia w maybe 15-20 mins to spare.

It was stressful, but it all worked out. If you are doing this on a weekday, you are risking rush hour traffic.

2 hours might be pushing it.

We were interested in taking a private car as we have lots of bags and
thought it might be more comfortable, rather than dragging our bags
through the stations.

Dorcama, I think you've gotten the picture that booking a specific train for day of arrival is taking a risk. It's a long way from Malpensa to Milano Centrale, and the Express train is going to be your quickest option. Even though you may pay more for your tickets to Venice by purchasing them when you arrive, it'll probably be a wash or even less with what you'll save over (expensive) car fare by taking the train from the airport.

Additionally, if you are planning to spend time seeing multiple locations in Italy, you might want to reduce the number and weight of those bags. This is a country that almost requires being able to handle luggage up/down steps, in and out of trains, sometimes up to hotel rooms which don't have lifts, etc. The lighter and the fewer; the better!