Hi CathyM,
I experienced that very same problem when purchasing tixs for friends in June. I just kept trying at all different hours of the day and finally the process went through. One must have the patience of Job when dealing with Renfe!

Thanks, Maribel. I'm in good company if you experienced the same issue. At this rate I'll have my passport and credit card number memorized before too long!

I'm returning to the Basque Country and the Rioja in September. We have 5 nights in Logrono during San Mateo and are studying your guides this week trying to narrow down our daytrips. You make everything sound so enchanting we want to do it all!

Yay!!!
I was just going to ask you where you were heading this time! Wish we could join you in Logroño for San Mateo! We just came back so have to stay low for a while-at least until Nov. You'll have a great, great time. If you have any specific questions, you know where to find me.

Keep trying with Renfe and good luck¡

I had so many problems making my recent purchase I could hardly list them all in my recent post (search renfe tickets 5 - I think the last entry was at the end of July).

Although your error message seems different than the one I got, check two things:
Are you using Firefox? (Probably not, because that caused a total hangup for me, not an error message)
Also check to see if your CC is holding up the process. My AMEX wouldn't go through because they flagged it as an unusual purchase.

I can totally relate to having your CC and passport number memorized!!! I was doing my transaction at midnight and finally gave up at 2:30. I felt like I was in some sort of Kafka hell.

I hope you work out your ticket issue soon. Have a wonderful time in La Rioja and the north!!! (assuming you don't have to go by donkey!)

As far as buying RENFE tickets online, you can't beat Bennymalaga's step by step instructions on Trip Advisor.

Here is the link.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online.html

Great link holakjs!!!
Thanks for posting.

Well, after almost a week of attempting to purchase my ticket and receiving the same error message it was just as Maribel said - finally tonight the transaction went through! I didn't change a thing in the way I entered my data but I guess it figured I'd paid my dues and let me purchase.

I've been through about 4 versions of purchasing tickets through Renfe online and this has to be the worst yet. Even the old one where you had to have a customer code and if you hadn't used your credit card with them you had to pick up the ticket at a Renfe window wasn't this user unfriendly.

Oh well. I've got my ticket and I'm leaving in less than a month.

Thanks for helping me hang in there and posting the link for others to reference how to purchase their tickets.

Hi CathyM,
A big congrats on your successful purchase, finally!!!
I agree, I wasn't nearly as frustrated with the old system as I am with the "new improved version".
Patience is indeed a virtue with Renfe.

www.rumbo.es is now also selling train tickets as well as plane tickets.

it might be worth a try if you are having problems.

I am leaving tomorrow night - but still have not passed the "Renfe patience" test. No tickets to Segovia nor Toledo for next week as yet.

I didn't realise the Renfe website is making it so difficult to purchase tickets online...so I didn't try getting them until last night. No luck bypassing that G001 error msg.

Can anyone advise if there's a possibility I can continue to try when I get to Spain or can I get it from Barcelona first since I'm headed there first?

I read from Maribel's guide that when buying Renfe ticket to go Segovia from Madrid-Chamartin station, we should choose "Segovia-Guiomar". But I only see "Segovia AV" - is it the same? Can anyone enlighten me on this?

mann...I'm so screwed. ugh..

Hi cin_sg-
Segovia-Guiomar". But I only see "Segovia AV" - is it the same?

Yes, that's the same.

If you already have your dates set for day trips, it won't hurt to buy your tickets when you first arrive in Barcelona.

yk - In that case I reckon I'd better get the tickets in Barcelona instead. I'm so sleepy I doubt I can stay awake for another 50 tries at Renfe website!

Thanks for your quick reply!

I am trying to buy tickets on Renfe site and am having issues too...although I think they may be my lack of understanding than anything....not a problem with the site.

1) There is a great "estrella" rate for my one-way Sevilla to Madrid trip. 69E I think per person, Perferente Class. Problem is, when I put in quantity of two, it will not allow the Estrella fare; just defaults to the normal fare. If I back out and say its only one person, it lets me have it....any idea why that would be? I can book two single seats to get the good fare if I need to...but will I be seated next to my wife on the train? That is, are there assigned seats in Preferente?

2) So I looked at the English (language) site Eurorail, but they dont show any sale rates of course.

3) I called Renfe office. They were very helpful. However, they said that if I dont have a Spanish issued credit card (or an AMEX I think), I cannot buy either over the web or by phone...I just ahve to show up in Spain and go to a station and hope my train is not sold out.

Any ideas folks? For such an organized transit system, this seems a little odd (the credit card bit).

Cheers,

Brendan
Charlotte USA

It is neither here nor there and of no help to you at all Brendan, and I am sure that the system is organized now.....but your post made me remember standing in line in Barcelona for hours in 1973 (w/a younger version of current DH) only to eventually board the train to find that our numbered seats were already occupied by other people whose tickets were identically numbered. We sat on our suitcases at the end of the car for the 15 hour ride to Geneva.....

thats quite a visual. thanks for sharing

What does Renfe have against Americans. I have tried 10 times to book tickets and no luck!!! I went to raileurope and the tickets are 100 Euros more expensive. Are there any travel agents that will book renfe tickets at a reasonable markup?

What kind of problems are you having, Marycang? I know that our knowledgable Maribel has recently bought some tickets (last week) from Renfe without any issues.

I got the same response as OP CathyM. "The process cannot continue right now" when I clicked on PURCHASE. I went on Raileurope 4 days ago and tickets were the same price as Renfe except for the $18 Shipping charge. So now I have my tickets.

Ok today is May 18, 2010. I was having the same problem and I even contacted renfe. They said I needed a "pin". So I used a visa debit card from wells fargo and it worked. It asked me for last 4 of my ss# and online account number password and it went Thru.
Just FYI. Wellsfargo debit card worked.

I've purchased tickets for 3 trips since starting this original post. I've never needed a pin - my good old Capital One VISA has worked fine. However, you do often need a great deal of patience when dealing with the temperamental system.

I got tired of trying to get the estrella price that it's been eluding me since I saw them last. I bought a EuRailpass that I will use in Portugal, Spain, Italy.

renfe.es is a pain. But if you're dogged enough, you can buy your tickets with a credit card. For me, each time I had to go thru the reservation process; get the error message; call my Visa issuer to let them know I was trying to make the charge and the amount; then go back in and redo the reservation process. It worked every time, though it was irritating.

Oh, and I did not need a PIN.

Paul1950- that's exactly what I have gone through. If I'm purchasing just one ticket it will usually go through. Then if I try to purchase another I receive the error message. So I call my credit ard issuer and they unblock the renfe transactions. Usually it's fine after that. (This is even after I've notified my credit card company in advance I'm making purchases originating from Spain). Given I'm not a very patient person I think it's a test - as I am also a very persistent person

I just purchased my tickets. I didn't need a PIN. I hadn't called my credit card company ahead of time, and just tried to purchase. It didn't go through, and I got a phone call not long after from my credit card company. I told them it was o.k., and all subsequent purchases, if they go through to the end, all went through. I used a Chase Visa and Internet Explorer.

I would like to add my personal experience in hope it will help other travellers out there as i have personally experience how frustrating renfe site is. I have been trying to purchase for the last 2 days. I called my bank 5 times, to authorise RENFE transactions. it did not help.I called renfe, and listen in disbelief when they told me that credit cards out of Spain is not recognised by their website, and even more so because Singapore (where i am from) is a small country.

What i DID:

It was only after my credit card account was enrolled in the VERIFIED BY VISA online shopping security code check , then the transactions went through!

Note: I had to use the principle card holder to purchase on site, it still failed when i tried to used my supp card even after enrollment on the verified by visa check , but successful when i used the principle card.

Oh, and it helps to use the spainish version of website as the error that appears is way more descriptive than the english version of site. It was from there i found out that my error was in authenticating the card holder (M022 error), and not that useless G001 error on english site. I used Google Translate to decipher the meaning.

Hope that helps!

Used: Citibank Visa (Enrolled in Verified By Visa), Internet Explorer, Principle Card Holder.

Pinkstreak,,

Thanks for heads up on error codes and using Spanish version.

Best wishes.

Anyone esle having this problem recently?
I'm trying to purchase 3 estrella tix for Mad>Seville and keep getting error processing
I'm on the Select Class/Price page...I chose Turista > Estrella prices.
Do I MUST select theFam Numerosa General or Especial option here?
I tried both, Without selecting any and selecting the General option..either way it returns Error when I clicked Continue at the bottom.

you are not a familia numerosa. Try again. but if all else fails.. why not call ?

p3t0t,
I've just described my experiences buying tickets on another thread - renfe question grrrr.

I found that registering with the site was easy, but the password I entered and verified was not the one they sent me in the acknowledgment email. Using their password worked.

Although I tried at various times throughout the day and night, for some reason the attempts made in the early morning (around 7am eastern US time) was the only time period where I was successful.

All successful attempts were made on the Spanish language site, not the English one. I used google toolbar to translate.

Multiple calls to my bank were made (citibank mastercard). Only once was there a denial by the bank - two identical charges caused the denial. Waiting until the next day and calling again while processing the transaction was successful.

After experiencing all the same problems with purchasing tickets from Renfe (Madrid-Sevilla)...i.e.,Followed the Trip Advisor instructions for using Renfe site, tried my Visa many times, called my credit card company (Capital One), etc. HERE IS WHAT WORKED FOR ME--used my B of A Debit Card (Visa). From the Renfe site, after I put in my debit card number, I was sent directly to the "Verified by Visa" site. I registered my Debit Card--no charge, easy--and the charge went through.

Is it a *different* number than the one that accesses your actual bank account? I am always hesitant to use a debit card for any online purchase, as to me, it feels more risky than a CC.

In USA, try www.petrabax.com instead. they sell renfe tickets online at modest upcharge; i paid ten dollars additional as fee; fee is inbuilt into the ticket charge; much lower fees than raileurope.com

As the OP on this thread I need to point out that this post was made originally 4 years ago. Since this time renfe has changednit's on line booking system at least twice! Personally I haven't experienced any issues in making purchases on renfe since this original post - 8 trips with no problems. My advice to everyone is to give renfe a try. If you do experience issues you could use this helpful link

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online.html