Milano / Milan / Mailand to Genova / Genoa by train

How to travel from Milan to Genoa by train

In common with many of the rail routes between Italian cities, when taking the train from Milan/Milano to Genoa/Genova, there is a choice between
(1) travelling by the express trains, which if booked ahead, are a little more expensive than taking the Regionale trains.
(2) travelling by slower Regionale trains, which tend to be cheaper, with more substantial savings to be made if you book last minute at the station.

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Routes

Option 1: taking the express trains

Travel Information

Final Destination: Ventimiglia; Genova or Livorno

There is no high speed line between Milano and Genova, so the Intercity express trains are only slightly faster than the alternative Regionale Veloce trains.

If you'll be booking tickets last minute at the station, those alternative trains will be cheaper too, but if you can book no more than a couple of days ahead online - then these Intercity trains become the logical choice.

  • They're faster
  • More comfortable
  • More frequent
  • And when they cheapest 'Super Economy' tickets are still available, they can be the cheapest option too.

12 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: 4 months ahead of the travel date

Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.

Though if you will be booking tickets last minute at the station, the lternative Regionale Veloce trains will be cheaper.

Rail Pass Users:

If you will be travelling with a valid Eurail or InterRail pass, take care when choosing which train to travel by on this route.

Outside of the summer months you can avoid paying any rail pass reservation fees if you take these InterCity trains, so for rail pass users they are typically time and money savers.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trenitalia from €9

Trenitalia Guide

Trenitlalia is the national rail operator in Italy and in addition to its cheaper types of ticket; it also typically offers other discounts available to non-Italians, which include:

  • Group Offers, provides for a discount of up to 50% when 3-5 Adults travel together.
  • Family Offer for when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 11 and under.
  • The Children Free Offer is available for journeys by Frecce trains, when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 15 and under.
    Those aged 15 and under travel for free, but the Adults will need to purchase full price 'Base' tickets.
Italia rail from €9

Italia rail Guide

Italiarail lives up to its name by selling tickets for rail journeys within Italy and the core feature of its service is that it is primarily designed to be used by international visitors to Italy.
So the English translations of place names are used when looking up journeys and the terms and conditions for using each type of ticket are clearly explained.
It also clearly points out the additional costs of upgrading to other classes and types of tickets while spelling out the additional benefits of doing so.
Though Italiarail will charge a booking fee, typically of around €3.

The Early Bird service

Italiarail has launched an 'early bird' pre-booking service for journeys by Frecce trains.
Tickets can be booked up to a year ahead of travel at a flat-rate price per route, before the tickets have been released for sale by Trenitalia.
If when they are placed on sale, the price is cheaper than what you have already paid to Italiarail, it will automatically refund the price difference.
Conversely, if the price is more expensive, you won't be charged the price difference.
You can also have the peace of mind of securing your seat(s) on the Frecce train(s) when you are first planning a trip.
If before the tickets are placed on sale, you decide to change your plans, you can request a refund; but once the tickets are released for sale, you will then be bound by the terms and conditions of the ticket(s) you have booked.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoNot High Speed

Good to Know

The alternative express train options to taking the Intercity train:

  • The 18:25 departure from Milano is a Frecciarossa train (which has travelled from Venezia), but tickets to travel by it are more expensive, than on the InterCity train, which departs only 20 mins earlier.
  • There is also a daily tilting Frecciabianca train, but it's slower than the Intercity (IC) trains and is generally more expensive (it should be faster, but it clearly isn't)
  • An EC train, which departs from Milano Rogoredo instead of Milano Centrale.

Option 2: taking the Regionale trains

Travel Information

Final Destination: Genova Brignole (most trains)

It can be worthwhile looking up the location of your final destination in Genova/Genoa, before taking these trains.
Most of them will call first at Genova Piazza Principe station before going on to Genova Brignole station.
So you'll have a choice of stations in the city.

Monday to Friday: = 9 x trains per day
Saturday: = 7 x trains
Sunday: = 5 x trains

Tickets

Book early and save: No (not on these trains)

Tickets will cost the same price if purchased at the station immediately before departure.

These Regionale trains are slower and can be more expensive than the alternative Intercity trains , when the discounted tickets for those express trains are still available.

However, they can be more than €10 cheaper, if you'll be booking at the station just before your journey.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trenitalia from €13 approx

Trenitalia Guide

Trenitlalia is the national rail operator in Italy and in addition to its cheaper types of ticket; it also typically offers other discounts available to non-Italians, which include:

  • Group Offers, provides for a discount of up to 50% when 3-5 Adults travel together.
  • Family Offer for when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 11 and under.
  • The Children Free Offer is available for journeys by Frecce trains, when groups of 2 - 5 people are travelling together and at least one of the party is a aged 15 and under.
    Those aged 15 and under travel for free, but the Adults will need to purchase full price 'Base' tickets.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - NoNot High Speed

Good to Know

There is no high speed line between Milano and Genova, so these trains take the same route as the alternative express trains.
These trains are slightly slower, primarily because they make more station calls, so those express trains are not only faster and more comfortable; they can be cheaper too, if you can book in advance online.

They also tend to depart from binari (tracks/platyforms) which are some distance from the main concourse.

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