Never changed train at Milano Centrale
 

I have taken a train from Milan to another destination but have never had to change trains there. I'll be going from Bologna to Zurich and will change trains in Milan but have only 18 minutes to do so. Is this adequate time?

18 minutes is enough time, but Italian trains - at least in my experience - do not alwasy run on-time like Switzerland or Germany. There should be plenty of trains from Bologna to Milano, so I'd take an earlier one.

In Switzerland, 5 min is considered an adequate change time. But when I had to buy a ticket with a change in Milano the ticket agent told me that 30 min is the shortest change time in Milano Centrale to get a guarantee on reaching the next train. The station is indeed very large, but I think it is rather due to possible delays.
If you travel by day I would risk the 18 min connection (the next train will depart in 1-2 hours). If it is a night train with compulsory booking, take an earlier train.

So if I miss that train I won't have a problem using the same ticket to jump on the next one?

We changed trains there in May going from Zurich to Florence. We had about 45 minutes between trains, but they did not announce the track until less than ten minutes before the train was to leave. It was a long walk to the track and we hustled on over.

It was very busy at the station and I watched my belongings carefully, although it might have been safe anyway. It was crowded and I'm alway cautious in crowds.

We could not find a place to have lunch sitting down so bought sandwiches from a kiosk and ate them standing up. Had plenty of time to check out the postcards.

18 minutes is more than plenty - Milan is an easy station because it is a head-station (dead-end or terminus design) - all platforms end up at the big concourse.

Here's what you do: You get off your train from Bologna and follow everybody else to the big concourse. There is a huge overhead board where they post the track (binario) numbers for trains, and you find yours by the scheduled departure time. If the binario has been posted in the far-right column, go to that binario number and board the train. If the binario number is not up yet, stand around with everybody else and wait for it to come up. Then move to the track with everybody else.

Delays are frequent occurences in Milan, so don't be surprised if your train is not ready and waiting just yet.

You will probably have an assigned seat, at least until you get into Switzerland where that is not mandatory (but if you already have a reserved seat from Milan, you will keep it). Make sure you find the right car number and then the seat number. If time is tight, hop on wherever you can and then proceed along the inside of the train to find your seat - at least you'll be on board.

One last question - I looked on trenitalia.com and put in all my train information and got the schedule. The train is for Jan 19 2007. I wanted to see the cost of the train but under the "buy" column it says "NO" and I can't find any way to see the cost. What am I doing wrong?

but IF I miss the train connection, can I use the same ticket?

Your Milano-Zurich train is almost certainly a Cisalpino that has mandatory seat assignments. You cannot just jump on the next train if you missed the connection. Don't know about fare rules on rebooking, however.

Oh, I see the trains you're looking for. 9:16-14:51. The Eurostar Italia and Cisalpino trains all use the same groups of platforms at Centrale, so the walk between trains should be very manageable, and won't be hard to find.

can you tell me why I cannot see the fare for that train you just mentioned?

They do not sell tickets until I belive 90 days prior to the the departure date so they will not allow purchases until then and no costs will be posted until then.

the departure date is in like 22 days!

>Your Milano-Zurich train is almost certainly a Cisalpino that has mandatory seat assignments. You cannot just jump on the next train if you missed the connection.

You CAN jump on the next train if you missed the connection. You have to ask the conductor in the delayed train to write a delay notice on your ticket and sign it.
What you can't, however, is to arbitrarily take an earlier or later train without rebooking - which costs a nominal fee (I remember sth. about 5 euro)

Forgive me everyone, but on trenitalia I am not able to see the fares for the Bologna/Zurich train regardless of the date I use. The true date I'm needing is Jan 19, 2007 but I even put 12/23/06 and I still couldn't see the fare. Can someone pls tell me what I may be doing wrong?

Is it because the trip involves travel across a border?

Crossborder trips are very often not priced online, by either of the two country rail systems involved. The Swiss give this as the reason:

Eine direkte Online-Preisauskunft für internationale Bahnreisen ist aufgrund des breiten Angebots nicht möglich.

The Italians just say No.

Any TA can tell you, or you can piece the info together to get at a ballpark figure: Price the Swiss leg from the border station Chiasso to Zürich, with the fast Cisalpino that you will be likely to take, it comes up as CHF63 in 2nd class one-way, and price the Italian leg for the same train, Milano to Chiasso, comes up as €6.06.

I just try again. I can buy the Milano-Zurich one separate from the Bologna-Milano fare.

The former, on the Cisalpino cost 54€ adult 2nd class.

So when I click on International and put in Bologna to Zurich I get the "buy" indicator. When I click on BUY it gives me various different errors. Can I not see the fare from ologna to Zurich? What is going on?

What or where is Chiasso?