Starting off the new year with bad news (sorry!): a strike.
27 Jan 2017, 9AM-5PM, Malpensa Express.
The Malpensa Express (the "trenino" between Milan and the Malpensa airport) is going to be unavailable, or available in fits and starts, between 9AM and 5PM on the 27th of January.
The first Malpensa express trains from the Cadorna station begin running at just before 6:30 AM, for example, so if you need to get to the airport, you'd better get organized early.
Here's the web site in English for more train, ticket counter and station times.
Best of luck!
Showing posts with label Public Transportation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public Transportation. Show all posts
Monday, January 23, 2017
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Alas, another train strike: from 9 PM today, 23 June, for 24 hours
There is lots of great stuff happening in Milan...it's just that I'm hoppin' with work, so only have time to pass you bad news ... yet another national and local TRAIN strike. If you're not taking a train, you're good to go.
If you are taking a train, you'll be pretty much stuck from 9 PM, today, until one minute before 9 P.M., tomorrow. If you're in a rush, ask about the "pullman," the city-to-city busses. In fact, they sometimes are more convenient than the trains (from Milan to Siena, for example).
If that's all that's worrying you, you can skip the rest of this message...and I wish you good travelling.
If you want to stay updated about potential strikes of all kinds in Italy, ... ...More...
...and if you can read a bit of Italian, go to the official Ministry of Infrastructure "strikes" page by clicking here.
Even if you can't read Italian, here are a few hints and words that will help you.
First of all, when writing the date, Italians put the DAY before the MONTH: 23-06-2016. (It's easy to spot when the day number is higher than 12, but remember it when we're in the first couple of weeks of the month.) The web page has the STARTING date in the far left hand column. The END date is in the second to the left column.
Second, you'll need to look at the "sector" (settore) in the fourth from the left column. SECTORS: general (generale), plane (aereo), busses/trams/metro (trasporto pubblico locale), trains (ferroviario), boats (marittimo), cargo (trasporto merci), helicopters (elicotteri), taxi (taxi), roads--probably for the toll ones (circolazione e sicurezza stradale), cross-sector (intersettoriale) and finally Ncc (apparently: noleggio con conducente = car rental with a driver).
Third, you'll need to look at the "category" (categoria) in the middle column, as this is where you'll be able to see, for example, if the place YOU are interested in is involved (for example, if you scan the column entries, you'll see city and / or region names).
Fourth, the "modality" (modalità ) column fourth from the right is where you'll see the times. Italy regulates itself on the 24-hour clock. (13:00 is 1 P.M., 14:00 is 2 P.M., etc. Once you get used to it, it's great.)
Finally, the "relevance" (rilevanza) column third from the right is where you'll see whether it's national (nazionale) or local (locale).
Unless you're versed in which union (sindacato) covers which field, that info in the third column from the left won't be helpful.
If you get brave, you can click on the two blue filter buttons in the upper left, and try to sort the news out by relevance (rilevanza) or sector (settore).
At the time of this writing, the RSS feed link wasn't working. (I've dropped them a line...although a lot of good that will probably do....).
Hope this is helpful! Bookmark it, so you have the info at hand for the next time...gotta run! Bye!
If you are taking a train, you'll be pretty much stuck from 9 PM, today, until one minute before 9 P.M., tomorrow. If you're in a rush, ask about the "pullman," the city-to-city busses. In fact, they sometimes are more convenient than the trains (from Milan to Siena, for example).
If that's all that's worrying you, you can skip the rest of this message...and I wish you good travelling.
If you want to stay updated about potential strikes of all kinds in Italy, ... ...More...
...and if you can read a bit of Italian, go to the official Ministry of Infrastructure "strikes" page by clicking here.
Even if you can't read Italian, here are a few hints and words that will help you.
First of all, when writing the date, Italians put the DAY before the MONTH: 23-06-2016. (It's easy to spot when the day number is higher than 12, but remember it when we're in the first couple of weeks of the month.) The web page has the STARTING date in the far left hand column. The END date is in the second to the left column.
Second, you'll need to look at the "sector" (settore) in the fourth from the left column. SECTORS: general (generale), plane (aereo), busses/trams/metro (trasporto pubblico locale), trains (ferroviario), boats (marittimo), cargo (trasporto merci), helicopters (elicotteri), taxi (taxi), roads--probably for the toll ones (circolazione e sicurezza stradale), cross-sector (intersettoriale) and finally Ncc (apparently: noleggio con conducente = car rental with a driver).
Third, you'll need to look at the "category" (categoria) in the middle column, as this is where you'll be able to see, for example, if the place YOU are interested in is involved (for example, if you scan the column entries, you'll see city and / or region names).
Fourth, the "modality" (modalità ) column fourth from the right is where you'll see the times. Italy regulates itself on the 24-hour clock. (13:00 is 1 P.M., 14:00 is 2 P.M., etc. Once you get used to it, it's great.)
Finally, the "relevance" (rilevanza) column third from the right is where you'll see whether it's national (nazionale) or local (locale).
Unless you're versed in which union (sindacato) covers which field, that info in the third column from the left won't be helpful.
If you get brave, you can click on the two blue filter buttons in the upper left, and try to sort the news out by relevance (rilevanza) or sector (settore).
At the time of this writing, the RSS feed link wasn't working. (I've dropped them a line...although a lot of good that will probably do....).
Hope this is helpful! Bookmark it, so you have the info at hand for the next time...gotta run! Bye!
Friday, April 29, 2016
Breaking News: Piazza Cordusio problematical from 4 to 8+ PM
Visiting the city, and need a hint for how to cross the piazza? Easy peasy: take the MM1 red metro line from the Duomo to Cairoli (the Piazza Castello stop).
The last couple of days have been gorgeous, cold, but gorgeous, notwithstanding the weatherman's prediction of clouds. Hope we get more of the same, today.
Bring your umbrella, rain is on the way for the weekend. (How do the weather gods do that? When it has to rain - and we're glad it does - it seems it always rains on the weekend.)
Enjoy!
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Marathon messes up street level traffic from 8 AM to 5 PM - Sunday 3 April 2016
Marathon messes up street level traffic from 8 AM to 5 PM - Sunday 3 April 2016.
Title says it all.
Sigh.
Hope to have better news, soon.
Title says it all.
Sigh.
Hope to have better news, soon.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Wednesday 16 Dec 2015...public transportation strike in Milan
Sorry to always be the bearer of bad tidings, but am so SWAMPED with work (no complaining, in times like these!) that I can alert you only to potential strikes.
Public Local Transportation strike in Milan from 8:45 A.M. to 12:45 P.M. ... only four hours, this time ... whew!
Here's hoping that next trimester will be a little less heavy, work-wise.
Hugs for the strike, you might need them.
Public Local Transportation strike in Milan from 8:45 A.M. to 12:45 P.M. ... only four hours, this time ... whew!
Here's hoping that next trimester will be a little less heavy, work-wise.
Hugs for the strike, you might need them.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
National train strike from 6 PM today (26 Nov) to 6 PM tomorrow (27 Nov)
Good luck, even with the Malpensa Express special train...More......
...between Cadorna in Milan and the Malpensa international airport.
Tomorrow, there also will be some local public transportation strikes, but the official Italian Ministry of Transportation web site says nothing about Milan.
At least the workers waited to strike until after Expo...let's hope it gets cleared up before the Christmas season.
So, what to do if you need to get to Malpensa?
You'll have to find a helpful friend, or take a taxi.
Be sure to always take only official taxis because these are covered by insurance and have to adhere to equipment and comportment standards, among which is the clear posting of the costs between Milan and the two airports. Last time I noticed, the costs between Milan and Malpensa were around a flat Euro 120.00. (Yes, that's one hundred and twenty Euros.)
Can hardly say my usual "enjoy!," can I?
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Another public transportation strike scheduled (sigh) for the 24th of June, 2015--CANCELLED! (Yeah!)
(BOOOOOOOOOO to the strikers!)
This Wednesday, the 24th of June, a local public transportation strikecould won't take place in Milan from 8:45 AM to 3 PM, and then again from 6 PM until the end of service.
If we're lucky, though, because of EXPO the governor will forbid this strike at the last minute, as he did the other one that had been scheduled.
Please, trade unions, bide your time until Expo is over. It's only a few months, and you're not getting good PR for yourself, really, you aren't.
UPDATE: according to ilpost.it (in Italian), CUB-the one trade union that hadn't signed the "no strikes during Expo" agreement with ATM, had been responsible for calling, and then -- whew! -- calling off the strike.
They are protesting exactly what is making Expo function better, and which should be kept year 'round: SLIGHTLY longer hours for the functioning of SOME of Milan's principal public transportation lines.
Come on, guys. A self-respecting metropolitan city keeps its public transportation lines running until at least 1 A.M. Otherwise, it's so hard to get back home after dinner and a movie without stressing that I, for one, just avoid it (and that means less money circulating).
This Wednesday, the 24th of June, a local public transportation strike
If we're lucky, though, because of EXPO the governor will forbid this strike at the last minute, as he did the other one that had been scheduled.
Please, trade unions, bide your time until Expo is over. It's only a few months, and you're not getting good PR for yourself, really, you aren't.
UPDATE: according to ilpost.it (in Italian), CUB-the one trade union that hadn't signed the "no strikes during Expo" agreement with ATM, had been responsible for calling, and then -- whew! -- calling off the strike.
They are protesting exactly what is making Expo function better, and which should be kept year 'round: SLIGHTLY longer hours for the functioning of SOME of Milan's principal public transportation lines.
Come on, guys. A self-respecting metropolitan city keeps its public transportation lines running until at least 1 A.M. Otherwise, it's so hard to get back home after dinner and a movie without stressing that I, for one, just avoid it (and that means less money circulating).
Monday, June 1, 2015
More strikes on their way...sigh...
Wondering about strikes in Italy?
Here's the scoop--focusing on Milan--taken directly from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Transportation's web site (in Italian):
--Wednesday, 3 June, national strike of some train workers from 9:01 A.M. until 5 P.M.
--Thursday, 11 June, ATM-public transportation in Milan for 24 hours (usually 8:30 A.M. to 3 P.M., 6 P.M. until the end of service)
--Monday, 15 June, Malpensa and other Italian airports, 24 hours
--Tuesday, 14 July, Traffic controllers at Malpensa airport, 1 - 5 P.M.
I can hardly say my usual "Enjoy!," can I?!
Here's the scoop--focusing on Milan--taken directly from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Transportation's web site (in Italian):
--Wednesday, 3 June, national strike of some train workers from 9:01 A.M. until 5 P.M.
--Thursday, 11 June, ATM-public transportation in Milan for 24 hours (usually 8:30 A.M. to 3 P.M., 6 P.M. until the end of service)
--Monday, 15 June, Malpensa and other Italian airports, 24 hours
--Tuesday, 14 July, Traffic controllers at Malpensa airport, 1 - 5 P.M.
I can hardly say my usual "Enjoy!," can I?!
Saturday, May 9, 2015
I had hoped that some common sense would have reigned during EXPO, but...another strike: Friday, May 15
Italy Public strike affecting local transport (bus, tram, subway, metro, light rail...), Friday May 15; Milan 8:45AM-3PM (break) 6PM-end.
OH GOODIE, JUST IN TIME FOR EXPO ... THX HEAPS GUYS
13 MAY 2015: BREAKING NEWS...the prefect has forbidden permission for the Milanese area, only, thanks to Expo, so--unless the drivers et al. get struck with an epidemic of colds--all should be OK in Milan, only. The rest of the country will still have local public transportation strikes
OH GOODIE, JUST IN TIME FOR EXPO ... THX HEAPS GUYS
13 MAY 2015: BREAKING NEWS...the prefect has forbidden permission for the Milanese area, only, thanks to Expo, so--unless the drivers et al. get struck with an epidemic of colds--all should be OK in Milan, only. The rest of the country will still have local public transportation strikes
Monday, April 13, 2015
Public transportation news in Milan (wonderful...finally)
I confess, when the original article's title caught my eye, I did, too...then hope began warring with disbelief, until good triumphed over evil: there will be public transportation in Milan 24 hours a day during Expo.
Wait...wait...don't get too excited.
The entire daytime network won't be running all night long. The much reduced late hours service of Friday and Saturday will be extended:
--bus 151 (substitutes M1-metro line 1)
--bus 152 (substitutes M2)
--bus 153 (substitutes M3)
--N42 (Bicocca-Central Train Station)
--N6, N15, N24, N27, N50, N54, N57, N80, N95
--the trams 90 and 91
This is as good a time as any to encourage ATM to extend service every day of the week by at least an hour or two. I'm no night owl, but if I want to go out for dinner and a movie, it's a scary proposition to play beat the public transportation clock in order to be able to watch, eat, chat and get home before the clanging of the clock shortly after midnight turns the ATM employees back into Cindarella's mice.
Enjoy!
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Another strike on the way...Tuesday, April 14, 8:45 AM - 3 PM
Yet another public transportation strike in Italy. In Milan, the times on Tuesday the 14th of April will be from 8:45 AM to 3 PM.
Could have been worse.
Could have been worse.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
April 10. What's up? Another public transportation strike, of course.
This time it's "just" the new train company, Italo.
24 hours. April 10, 2015.
Info from "Milano Today" (in Italian).
Forewarned is forearmed.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Handy ATM news in time for a reminder about the strike, tonight...
What to do?...More......
If you have TIM, Wind, Vodaphone or H3G and a smart phone, now you can buy your ticket via SMS!
BEFORE BOARDING, send an SMS to ATM at this number: 48444. You will receive an SMS with a normal urban ticket validated in that moment (so the seconds are ticking...you have 90 minutes).
"Normal urban" means that the ticket is *not* valid for the metro stops outside of the city limits (that includes the Rho-Pera convention center).
Cost? Ticket: Euro 1,50 + whatever charges your carrier imposes.
How can you use it to ride on the metro, or on the TreNord and "passante" services? Go to one of the ATM ticket vending machines, press "ticket with SMS," input the PNR code (Personal Reservation Number), and print out the ticket. It automatically will have only the time remaining on the ticket.
Want more info in English? Too bad. I only found it in Italian, so you'll just have to trust me. :-)
Enjoy!
P.S., about the public transportation strike in Milan, today, it's from 6 P.M. to 10 P.M.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Beware the 30th of March...public transport strike in Milan from 6 PM to 10 PM
Protests against the sacrifices requested of its workers by ATM, Milan's public transport system, for EXPO 2015 have generated a strike on Monday the 30th of March. Services will halt from 6 PM to 10 PM.
At least one of the requests seem perfectly reasonable to me: no vacations.
For Pete's sake, people, it's only for 6 months, and the chance to get the world to see what a super city for tourism Milan is comes once only 100 or so years. (Yes, yes, yes, there are problems particularly because life in Italy is still pretty much organized around almost everything shutting down in August, and schools aren't organized on a year-round program, I see all this, but I repeat...it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to bring our city to the attention of world travellers with a good chance of positive trickle down for you, whatever your job.)
Other complaints, longer working hours without breaks, for example, do sound legitimate, because the situations created could be a bit dangerous for all involved. Fix these...now.
What to do?
If you can't leave work to get home before 6 PM, go out to dinner, a movie, a loooooong cup of tea with friends or a book, near where you work, if you can.
(Info source, in Italian)
I can hardly say my usual "Enjoy!," can I?
At least one of the requests seem perfectly reasonable to me: no vacations.
For Pete's sake, people, it's only for 6 months, and the chance to get the world to see what a super city for tourism Milan is comes once only 100 or so years. (Yes, yes, yes, there are problems particularly because life in Italy is still pretty much organized around almost everything shutting down in August, and schools aren't organized on a year-round program, I see all this, but I repeat...it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to bring our city to the attention of world travellers with a good chance of positive trickle down for you, whatever your job.)
Other complaints, longer working hours without breaks, for example, do sound legitimate, because the situations created could be a bit dangerous for all involved. Fix these...now.
What to do?
If you can't leave work to get home before 6 PM, go out to dinner, a movie, a loooooong cup of tea with friends or a book, near where you work, if you can.
(Info source, in Italian)
I can hardly say my usual "Enjoy!," can I?
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Coming to Expo? Here's how to get to the site
Practicalities, dear Expo-ing friends: how to get there from here.
Thankfully, the page is in English, but it's abysmally hard to find on the official Expo web site...at least right now...so keep this link handy.
Enjoy!
Thankfully, the page is in English, but it's abysmally hard to find on the official Expo web site...at least right now...so keep this link handy.
Enjoy!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
(More) Stupid Strikes: TreniNord 12, 13, 14 Dec
TreniNord departs (mostly) out of Cadorna, the station flanking the Sforza Castle, and runs "nord"--north--to places such as (lovely) Como.
Just in time for Christmas visits and shopping (mean! mean! mean!), the workers are planning strikes.
Friday, the 12th of December the strike will be from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. (in truth, this should spare many commuters), but ATM is also involved, though other sources say ATM will stop from 7 P.M. onwards. Your guess is as good as mine.
Saturday and Sunday the 12th and 14th of December, the trains stop at 9 P.M., and even if your train leaves before 9 P.M., if it doesn't get to your destination by 10 P.M., you're fried.
Get out your walking shoes, and hope that the clouds don't produce rain.
I can hardly say my usual "Enjoy!," can I?
Just in time for Christmas visits and shopping (mean! mean! mean!), the workers are planning strikes.
Friday, the 12th of December the strike will be from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. (in truth, this should spare many commuters), but ATM is also involved, though other sources say ATM will stop from 7 P.M. onwards. Your guess is as good as mine.
Saturday and Sunday the 12th and 14th of December, the trains stop at 9 P.M., and even if your train leaves before 9 P.M., if it doesn't get to your destination by 10 P.M., you're fried.
Get out your walking shoes, and hope that the clouds don't produce rain.
I can hardly say my usual "Enjoy!," can I?
Saturday, November 29, 2014
No rest for...the users of public transportation: an evening-time strike, Friday, Dec. 12, 2014
Get yourself home quickly on the evening of Friday the 12th of December.
Public transportation strikes and protests that will block town are planned to begin by 7 P.M. (Keep checking the news to see if it will be cancelled, but it's unlikely...we're under the Christmas-time pressure-cooker...too much visibility at stake.)
Sigh.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Public transportation strikes and protests that will block town are planned to begin by 7 P.M. (Keep checking the news to see if it will be cancelled, but it's unlikely...we're under the Christmas-time pressure-cooker...too much visibility at stake.)
Sigh.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Strikes, more strikes: 14 and 15 November 2014
Coming to Italy in mid-November?
On the 14th of November, there will be a 24-hour general strike that will affect national (trains, busses) and local (trams, busses, subways) public transportation. Although no official information has been released to the general public, yet, the strikes in Milan usually start at 8:30 A.M., and run until 3 P.M., when they take a quick break to let people get home, quickly, if they can, then they start up, again, from 6 P.M. until the end of service.
On the 15th of November, the airlines will be striking.
Italian efforts to turn the economy around are making waves, on whatever side of the dispute you stand.
I can hardly say my usual "enjoy!," can I?
On the 14th of November, there will be a 24-hour general strike that will affect national (trains, busses) and local (trams, busses, subways) public transportation. Although no official information has been released to the general public, yet, the strikes in Milan usually start at 8:30 A.M., and run until 3 P.M., when they take a quick break to let people get home, quickly, if they can, then they start up, again, from 6 P.M. until the end of service.
On the 15th of November, the airlines will be striking.
Italian efforts to turn the economy around are making waves, on whatever side of the dispute you stand.
I can hardly say my usual "enjoy!," can I?
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Here we go, again...strikes ahead in Italy...first one in line is this Friday, Oct. 24
Sigh... the ends of contracts are no surprise. They probably aren't even in fine print. So why isn't the arduous process of finding common ground begun sufficiently in advance to help both parties accept a reasonable compromise? Beats me.
That leaves those of us who depend on public transportation and services high and dry. On the following days:...More...
--this Friday, Oct. 24, there will be a 24-hour national public transportation strike with local variations. In Milan, the marquees of ATM give the usual news: the services will run until 8:45 A.M., when they will STOP until 3 P.M. for a short break to give people time to try to skeedadle home, then the strike BEGINS, again, at 6 P.M. until the end of service. And riders' patience.
--14 Nov, there will be a general strike that will include local transportation on a national level, as well as airlines. More than this, I can't say at the moment.
--Perhaps 19 Nov. there will be another strike, this time only of the airlines and only of four hours from noon to 4 P.M. Help me remember to check this one, especially, because the strike is dated 19 October (but I didn't hear anything about it), yet the placement in the list is chronologically where the 19th of November would be...I think there was a typo, but...
...all the info comes from the official Ministry of Infrastructures web site (in Italian: http://www.mit.gov.it/), but has been gleaned from the previews because...the full pages aren't opening, at all....
At least you've had a heads-up.
I can hardly say my usual "Enjoy!," now, can I?
That leaves those of us who depend on public transportation and services high and dry. On the following days:...More...
--this Friday, Oct. 24, there will be a 24-hour national public transportation strike with local variations. In Milan, the marquees of ATM give the usual news: the services will run until 8:45 A.M., when they will STOP until 3 P.M. for a short break to give people time to try to skeedadle home, then the strike BEGINS, again, at 6 P.M. until the end of service. And riders' patience.
--14 Nov, there will be a general strike that will include local transportation on a national level, as well as airlines. More than this, I can't say at the moment.
--Perhaps 19 Nov. there will be another strike, this time only of the airlines and only of four hours from noon to 4 P.M. Help me remember to check this one, especially, because the strike is dated 19 October (but I didn't hear anything about it), yet the placement in the list is chronologically where the 19th of November would be...I think there was a typo, but...
...all the info comes from the official Ministry of Infrastructures web site (in Italian: http://www.mit.gov.it/), but has been gleaned from the previews because...the full pages aren't opening, at all....
At least you've had a heads-up.
I can hardly say my usual "Enjoy!," now, can I?
Monday, September 29, 2014
Public transportation strike in Milan, Tuesday, September 30, 2014
In Milan, public transportation will shut down from 8:45 A.M. to 3 P.M., then again from 6 P.M. to 7:45 P.M.
This time, it's "only" for 8 hours, so your work day shouldn't be too disrupted.
Plan to catch a burger and some time admiring the exterior of the Duomo after work.
(Can hardly add my usualy "Enjoy!," can I?)
This time, it's "only" for 8 hours, so your work day shouldn't be too disrupted.
Plan to catch a burger and some time admiring the exterior of the Duomo after work.
(Can hardly add my usualy "Enjoy!," can I?)
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