Trains in Spain
 

I would like to know about the trains in Spain: Is Spain very well interconnected by train? Are there Express trains and regular trains? Is it possible to by a pass that would allow one to travel anywhere within Spain? And if so, how much would it cost? We will have two weeks in September and am trying to figure out how to go about traveling within Spain. We want to explore specifically Andalucia;i.e Sevilla, Granada, and Cordoba, and any other interesting little towns in the region. I am just asking for a little guidance. I read somewhere about a "AVE" train that is high speed betw/ Madrid and Cordoba & Sevilla. Is this part of Renfe system?

Hi D2,

Train schedules, prices and tickets are at www.renfe.com

((I))

Just to elaborate, the AVE trains are an extremely fast and comfortable way to travel between cities, say, from Madrid to Sevilla. But for exploring little towns in Andalucia (don't miss Ronda!), cars and buses seem to work best.

The trains in Spain run mainly on the plain!

Sorry I couldn't resist. :))

Good advice above. The Ave trains are great. We even had a movie on our trip between Madrid and Seville (it was in Spanish, of course). We also took a local train from Madrid to Toledo and it wasn't as "fancy" but was certainly okay for that short trip.

But now, the AVE line between Madrid and Toledo is complete. 35 minutes!

Sure, the AVE is great between Madrid and Sevilla, but the rest of the Spanish system is not good.

However, air travel in Spain is so cheap it really makes sense to check out your options if you plan to travel to places other than Madrid and Sevilla.

We used the trains from Madrid to Toledo(one day trip) them to Cordoba and onto Sevilla. They were clean,fast and efficient. An easy way to travel. I would not have wanted an automobile in any of these towns. We opted to use a bus for the trip from Sevilla to Granada because the times were better and the trip was faster via bus. In Granada we picked up our rental car to drive to Costa Del Sol. The car was essential for our day trips to the White Villages. More trip details and photos are at:
web.mac.com/photofoot.

nessundorma writes: "Sure, the AVE is great between Madrid and Sevilla, but the rest of the Spanish system is not good."

That is not so!

I have ridden Talgos Barcelona-Madrid, Madrid-Alicante and Madrid-a'Corunha (Galicia). They are less expensive than AVE, 'all reserved,' (even in clase Turista) fast and comfortable. The Hotel Trens (i.e., 'sleepers') are also quite nice. Many regional commuter lines operate 'all 2nd class' which I agree are short on some creature comforts but they also operate TRD's which are more upscale, and for which one may buy a reservation.

Spanish developed Talgo Technology, uses a revolutionary undercarriage design that allows Talgos to maintain high speed through mountainous terrain without the requirement of completely upgrading the railbed (as was necessary for the French-designed AVE). Talgos also run at 300km/hr on the Madrid-Sevilla AVE railbed.

I'm a bit confused about buying tickets in advance. It seems I cannot do this online with a credit card. Can I reserve the tickets and then pay at the RENFE office in the Madrid airport when I arrive? Or do I just have to wait to get tickets/seats when I arrive in Spain?

Pegsimba, you can buy them online. What you can't do is printing them as it's the first time you're buying with a credit card. So you buy them, and have to collect them at any station when you arrive to Spain. There's one at Barajas airport.

I forgot, you collect them with the same card you use to buy them :) Just show it and they will give your tickets to you :)

The Pain in Spain Is Mainly on the Train - not so anymore but it was not too long ago, but as others point out now Spain has some of Europe's finest and fastest trains. Trains are a great way to go to places like you're going. If you're going to be concentrating travel in a fairly small region like you suggest then a pass is probably not a good deal for you.

no train reservations are accepted until 60 days before your trip.