Trains, Como

The Le Nord is a private railroad that runs north and northeast of Milan. For people arriving at Malpensa Airport, Le Nord makes it possible to go straight to Como without going through Milan first.

Currently, the English side of the Le Nord website is not working - so the following explains how to use the Italian website...

1. Go to www.lenord.it
2. "Ramo" means "branch"; it should say "Ramo Milano", or "Milan branch", which is the system that you want (so leave it alone ;-) ).
3. To the right of "stazione di partenza" (departure station), there are two fields. In the rightmost field, use the pulldown menu to choose "Malpensa Aeroporto" (Malpensa airport).
4. To the right of "stazione di arrivo" (arrival station), there are two fields. In the rightmost field, use the pulldown menu to choose "Como Lago" (the station in Como closest to the lake).
5. For "Data", enter a date in the next week or two that is the same day of the week as the day you intend to travel (why? because if you choose a date too far in the future - more than 60 days or so - the schedules may not be complete, but since schedules don't change much over the year, next week will be good enough for planning). I entered 8 Aprile 2010 (April 8, 2010).
6. Enter a reasonable time of departure next to "Ora di partenza". Make this an hour or so after you land at Malpensa. I entered 09:00.
7. Click "Ricerca" (Search).

You will be presented with the following:
da Malpensa Aeroporto a Como Lago il 8/4/2010 a partire dalle ore 9:00
(from Malpensa airport to Como Lago on April 8, 2010 departing at 9 a.m.)

Soluzioni trovate:
(solutions that were found)

Partenza = departure
Arrivo = arrival
Durata = length of trip
Tipo = type of train (or bus, maybe, in some cases)
Prezzo cl. 1^ = price for 1st class
Prezzo cl. 2^ = price for 2nd class
Cambi = "Changes" (i.e., where you change trains if it's not direct)
Opzioni = Options - under this, we have "Transport details" which you can click on to see the trains involved, and "Pricing details" which link is not currently active.

It is odd that the Price is "N/A" in each case; in the past, the website listed the prices...not to worry, as the prices are pretty cheap, a few euro each way. This is a commuter line, not a premium train, so the prices are reasonable.

So the first solution I get is:
departure = 08:56
arrival (in Como) = 09:55
trip length = 59 m(inutes)
type of trains = Malpensa Express and Treno (generic train)
price = not listed
where you change trains = Saronno (yes, the same one of Amaretto di Saronno fame)

The second solution may seem odd to you, it leaves at the same time (08:56) but doesn't arrive in Como until 10:43, This is because they are listing a possible second connection from Saronno to Como in case you miss the first one. Don't worry, your ticket is good on either one, as there are no reserved seats.

So, the net result for you is (1) a train leaves in the direction you want from Malpensa about every 30 minutes, and (2) the total trip will be 1 to 2 hours, depending on which train you catch and how long of a layover you have in Saronno. Clear now?

Bill

There are two train stations in central Como, served by two different companies. The one considered to be the main station is San Giovanni and it is the station of trains of Trenitalia. Here you can find fast trains to Milan Centrale or north on to Basel and Zürich in Switzerland.

I used the other station, Como Lago, which is served by LeNord. Trains from Como Lago station stops at Milan Codorna, which was the train station closest to my hotel, so it was more convenient for me. The trains from Como Lago to Milan leaves about every half an hour and the ride takes an hour. The ticket was 3.60 Euro (February 2009).