If you are catching a late flight out of Malpensa or arriving after 10 PM and counting on a train into Milan, stop and check the timetable. The malpensa train disruption 2026 is not a single incident. It is a months-long maintenance program running from March 2 to July 31 that degrades the late-evening airport rail services across all three Malpensa-facing corridors. The daytime Malpensa Express runs normally. The last few evening trains are where the problems concentrate, with cancellations, shortened routes, terminal changes, and replacement buses that leave on a different schedule from the trains they replace.
The Short Version
March 2 – July 31, 2026: evening and late-night Malpensa rail services are disrupted across all three airport corridors (Cadorna, Centrale/Gallarate, and S50 cross-border). Daytime service is normal. The last 2-3 evening departures from both Cadorna and Centrale sides are affected: some cancelled, some shortened to Terminal 1 only, some replaced by bus. Use the SEA shuttle (free, every 15 min) between T1 and T2 if your train does not reach your terminal. For late arrivals at Malpensa, coaches to Milano Centrale run every ~20 min until 02:40 and are the cleanest rail-free backup. Specific weekends (including May 5-11) have broader closures with bus replacement from Varese.
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What Is Actually Happening
Two overlapping work programs create the malpensa airport rail works disruption. The first runs from March 2 to July 31 with works between Saronno-Sacconago and Turbigo-Novara on the FNM network. The second runs on weekday and Saturday nights (Monday/Tuesday through Friday/Saturday) from late March to late July for maintenance between Saronno and Malpensa. The night-work schedule excludes a few dates (April 6-7, May 1-2, June 2-3).
Since January 23, 2026, all Milano Centrale airport trains continue beyond the terminals to Gallarate every 30 minutes via the new T2-Gallarate rail link. So when you see disruption notices headed “Milano Centrale-Malpensa Aeroporto T2-Gallarate,” that is the normal 2026 line structure, not a detour. The three airport rail corridors affected are RE54 from Milano Cadorna, RE51 from Milano Centrale via Malpensa to Gallarate, and S50 from Ticino/Varese.
Which Trains Are Hit: Cadorna Side
On the Milano Cadorna-Malpensa corridor, the recurring evening impacts hit the last airport-facing runs. RE391 (22:26 from Cadorna) and RE393 (22:56 from Cadorna) no longer reach Terminal 2 and terminate at Terminal 1 instead. In the reverse direction, RE392 (23:20 toward Cadorna) and RE394 (23:50 toward Cadorna) no longer start from T2 and depart from T1 instead. Two earlier departures from the airport, RE388 (22:20) and RE390 (22:50), also run about 5 minutes later after Busto Arsizio FN.
If your flight arrives at or departs from Terminal 2 and you are catching one of these affected trains, use the SEA free shuttle between T1 and T2. It runs about every 15 minutes, and every 30 minutes overnight.
Which Trains Are Hit: Centrale/Gallarate Side
The Milano Centrale-Malpensa-Gallarate corridor has more complex disruption. Two services are fully cancelled for the entire March 2 to July 31 period: RE10386/2983 and RE10388/2985. Two more are cancelled on specific dates only (April 11-12, May 30-31, June 7-13, June 27-28, July 11-12, among others): RE2976/10383 and RE2978/10385.
Additional late-night detail from the night-works schedule: RE2982/10389 is cut in the Saronno-Malpensa-Gallarate section. RE2988/10395 is replaced by bus on the same section. RE10386/2983 is also cut between Gallarate-Malpensa-Saronno. RE10392/2989 is replaced by bus. In practice, the late-evening milan malpensa train changes mean checking the specific train number for your date rather than assuming “Malpensa Express every 30 minutes” applies after about 21:30.
The S50 Cross-Border Link
The S50 connection to Ticino (Switzerland) is also directly affected. During the March-July work window, S50 services 20389/25587 and 20388/25590 are cancelled between Busto Arsizio and Malpensa. RFI’s passenger advice provides specific workaround connections: for the evening run toward the airport, leave the S50 at Gallarate at 22:13 and use RE2987 at 22:54. For the evening run from the airport, take RE2980 from Malpensa at 22:28 to Gallarate and connect into S50 service 25590 at 22:47. These are tight connections that require knowing the exact schedule.
Is This an All-Day Problem? No.
This is emphatically not a daytime airport rail collapse. Under the normal 2026 pattern, Malpensa Express runs 146 daily trips, with Milano Centrale departures every 30 minutes from 05:25 to 23:25 and Cadorna service running until 01:00. The works notices mainly bite into the late-evening wave: altered departures cluster around 21:55-23:25 on the Centrale side, and around 22:20-23:50 on the Cadorna/airport side.
If your flight arrives or departs during normal daytime hours, the Malpensa Express operates as usual. The disruption matters for late-evening arrivals (after about 22:00), late-evening departures requiring an airport-bound train after about 21:30, and overnight connections.
Specific Weekends With Broader Closures
On top of the recurring evening works, specific weekends have broader closures that affect malpensa evening trains more severely. The weekend of April 11-12 had rail traffic suspended between Gallarate and Rho for technology upgrades, with S50 airport trains running only to Varese and replaced by nonstop buses from Varese to Malpensa T1/T2, plus bus continuity between Rho and Gallarate/Porta Garibaldi. A similar disruption period is flagged for May 5-11.
On these special-closure weekends, the usual evening train logic does not apply at all. Check the specific weekend notice before traveling and expect bus replacement for the full airport rail connection, not just the late-evening trains.
The Non-Rail Backup
If the rail situation looks too complicated for your travel time, the airport’s official ground-transport page provides a clean alternative. Coach services between Milano Centrale and Malpensa run with an overall frequency of about every 20 minutes, with airport-bound service from 03:20 to 00:50 and Malpensa-to-Centrale returns from 05:00 to 02:40. These do not depend on the affected FNM rail network and operate independently of the evening works.
For late-night arrivals at Malpensa, the coach is often the simpler option. No terminal-switching, no cancelled train numbers to decode, no replacement-bus transfers. Just a direct coach to Milano Centrale. Check your specific operator’s schedule (multiple companies serve the route), and book online in advance if you want guaranteed seating.
Practical Checklist
For daytime Malpensa travel: no action needed. Malpensa Express runs normally. For evening travel (after ~21:30): check your specific train number on the Trenord or Trenitalia journey planner for your date. Verify whether it runs to/from T1 or T2. If your train terminates at T1 and you need T2, use the free SEA shuttle (every 15 min). For specific disruption weekends: check Trenord’s works notices for your date. On those weekends, use the Centrale-Malpensa coach instead. For any time you are uncertain: the coach service from Milano Centrale is the cleanest rail-free backup and runs until 02:40 from Malpensa.
If you are building Italy travel plans that involve Malpensa connections, the smartest habit between now and July is to check the train number, not just the route name. “Malpensa Express” is a brand that covers multiple services on multiple corridors, and during these works, some of those services run normally while others are cancelled, shortened, or replaced by bus. The number tells you the truth. The brand tells you nothing.
