© Federico Di Dio photography・Unsplash License

Italy

Milan

Italy's capital of fashion and design. Beneath the Duomo runs the country's largest metro network.

Malpensa Express / Metro M4

Linate sits inside the city fare zone - metro M4 runs into the terminal on the EUR 2.20 city ticket. Malpensa means a separate operator's train at a flat EUR 15: no city tap-to-ride there, and no city pass covers it.

Updated on August 19, 2026

  • Until Dec 31, 2026

    With Pay&Go, tap again when you arrive

    If you use Trenord's Pay&Go at Malpensa, tap the same card again at the station where you get off. Miss that tap and you are charged €10 until 31 December 2026, €15 from 2027.

How to ride

  1. 1
    Pick your route by airport
    Linate has metro M4 into the terminal. Malpensa is reached by the airport train or by coach - different tickets, different fares.
  2. 2
    At Linate, tap in at the M4 gates
    Walk from arrivals into the M4 station and tap your bank card on the reader at an orange gate.
  3. 3
    Tap again at the station where you get off
    Tap out even if the barriers stand open - skip it and you are charged to the furthest station.
  4. 4
    At Malpensa, buy the ticket at the station
    Buy an airport-fare ticket at the office, machines or app. T1's station is on level -1; T2's is over a walkway from Arrivals.
  5. 5
    Or tap a card with Pay&Go
    Tap a card on the Pay&Go totems at T1 or T2, then tap again at the station where you get off.
  6. 6
    Airport train tickets are not validated
    Just board on the day you bought it. The ATM contactless tap does not work on this train.
  7. 7
    Take taxis from the rank
    Malpensa to the city is a fixed fare - it assumes a non-stop run, and no other surcharges are added.

Fares

Single fares5

Malpensa Express single (adult)
Same price from or to any Milano station; no validation, valid until end of service on the day chosen
15 EUR ≈ $17
Malpensa Express same-day return (adult)
€12.50 for ages 4-13; valid only on the route and direction chosen at purchase
25 EUR ≈ $28
Malpensa T1 to T2 connection
€1 for children under 14; the hop between terminals takes a few minutes
2 EUR ≈ $2
Linate to the city on metro M4 (Mi1-Mi3 single)
Valid 90 minutes, and the same ticket works on city metro, surface lines and Trenord trains
2.2 EUR ≈ $2
Taxi, Malpensa to the city (fixed fare)
No stops en route; motorway tolls and night or holiday surcharges are already included
114 EUR ≈ $130

Children & discounts1

Malpensa Express single (ages 4-13)
Under-3s travel free when accompanied by a paying parent
7.5 EUR ≈ $8

How the meter adds up1

Taxi, minimum fare for rides from the airports
If the meter ends lower, €16.00 applies; rides from Linate into town run on the meter
16 EUR ≈ $18

Estimates use exchange rates as of November 3, 2026

Payment

Tap to ride ATM metro and surface lines, plus the Pay&Go totems and gates on the airport line
Pay&Go is a separate system; its ticket is not valid on ATM services
VISAMastercardMaestroAmex
Tap in and out on M4 for Linate; the Malpensa line is a different operator
Card payment at machines
Works for buying tickets; the machines in M4 stations take card only
IC card
Milan has no stored-value transit card to top up
App tickets
ATM MilanoTrenord
City tickets in the ATM Milano app, airport train tickets in the Trenord app
QR ticketing
At the gates: City pass QR codes are scanned at the metro gates going in and out
Paper tickets
Magnetic paper is gone; physical tickets are reloadable chip cards
Cash
Ticket machines in M4 stations are card-only
At machines: At the Linate end, the M4 station machines do not take cash

Quick facts

Hours
From Milan 4:57-23:27
Frequency
Every 30 min per line; ~15 from the airport
Fares from
15 EUR+

Heads-up

  • Ask for a detour and the fixed fare turns into the meter

    The fixed airport taxi fare assumes a non-stop run; ask the driver to change the route mid-trip and he is entitled to charge by the meter instead.

Timetable

Operating hours From Milan 4:57-23:27
Typical duration Malpensa T1 is about 51 minutes from Centrale and 37 from Cadorna (T2 is 57 and 43); Linate is barely 10-odd minutes into town on M4
Check the official site for the latest times and service status
An M4 platform in the city; the sign points to Linate Aeroporto. Taken May 2025 © Remontees・CC BY-SA 4.0
Editor Naotaka