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Spain: Railway Information

The Spanish Railways are state-run. The Red Nacional de los Ferrocarilles Españoles or RENFE covers a large number of lines connecting all the regions and the major cities. RENFE trains offer a wide range of high quality, comfort and punctuality. Most of these trains supply additional services such as phone facilities, snack bar or a restaurant. RENFE also supplies night train services between several cities in Spain.

Visit the website of the Spanish railway company RENFE: English version / Spanish.

Eurail Passes for Spain:

Spanish railway company

Logo Spanish Railways

The national railway company of Spain is called RENFE (Spanish National Railway Network - Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles).

Visit the website of the Spanish railway company RENFE: English version / Spanish.


Network
The main cities have local networks connecting the smaller towns and villages. In Madrid there are 9 lines with frequent services of less than 15 minutes with a 95% punctuality.

From Madrid Central station travelers can easily reach any other destination in Spain. For example Madrid to Valencia is a 4-hour train ride.

'Cercanias' trains (suburban services) are the newest trains in Europe with connections to: Toledo, Segovia and the Escorial Palace.

High-speed trains:

  • ALVIA is a new high speed  train type that runs on the stretch Madrid – Zaragoza – Barcelona
  • AVE trains run with speeds up to 186 mph on the routes: Madrid – Cordoba -Sevilla, Madrid - Zaragoza - Huesca and Madrid – Camp de Tarragona.
  • EUROMED trains run at 124 mph (200 km/h) on the line: Barcelona – Valencia/Alicante
  • ARCO trains run at 124 mph from: Port Bou to Valencia Barcelona to Alicante to Murcia
  • ALARIS high-speed trains run at 124 mph from: Madrid to Valencia to Castellon
  • ALTARIA trains run at 124 mph on the following routes: Madrid – Alicante/ Algeciras/ Barcelona/ Cadiz/ Huelva/ Pamplona

Reservations

Please note that most trains in Spain have compulsary reservations. Costs for making a reservation, in Europe, for a day train are:

  •  Regional trains (when needed): 4 euro
  • Tourist/2nd class, long distance trains: 6.50 euro
  • Tourist 2nd class, AVE trains: 10 euro
  • Preferente/1st class, long distance trains (without meal in place included): 10 euro
  • Preferente/1st class, long distance trains (meal in place included, Euromed, Altaria, Alaris, etc): 23.50 euro
  • Preferente/1st class, AVE trains (meal included): 23 euro

Supplements in Spain

Surcharges and/or reservation costs are required for these domestic day trains:

  • Arco, Talgo, Diurno, Intercity
    1st class: € 10 (approx. USD 14,80 / AUD 17,50) / 2nd class: € 6,50 (approx. USD 9,60 / AUD 11,40)
    Reservation compulsory.
  • Euromed, Alvia, Alaris, Altaria
    1st class: € 23,50 (approx. USD 34,80 / AUD 41,10) / 2nd class: € 6,50 (approx. USD 9,60 / AUD 11,40)
    Reservation compulsory. First class includes drink and meal.
  • AVE, Talgo 200, Avant
    1st class: € 23,50 (approx. USD 34,80 / AUD 41,10) / 2nd class: € 10 (approx. USD 14,80 / AUD 17,50)
    Reservation compulsory. First class includes drink and meal.

Special trains

You can travel by train through Europe on a large variety of special trains. Examples are high-speed trains, scenic trains or night trains.

Special trains mostly require a small supplement or a reservation fee from Eurail Pass holders. See the list of supplements for international trains and the information about train reservations. You can plan your trip with the help of online timetables.

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