The Spanish railway network offers fast and comfortable trains
You can travel by rail between the major Spanish cities and regions.
The trains from national rail company RENFE trains offer a wide range of high quality, comfort and punctuality.
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 Puerta de Atocha station travelers can easily reach the most popular destination in Spain. For example Madrid to Barcelona is a under 3-hour train ride with the new AVE-line that opened in 2008.
A Eurail pass is also valid on Cercanias trains (suburban services) that operate in all big cities.
For more information visit the Cercanias website.
High-speed trains:
- AVE trains run with speeds up to 300 km/h on the routes: Madrid - Zaragoza - Camp de Tarragona - Barcelona, Madrid - Zaragoza - Huesca, Madrid – Córdoba -Sevilla, Madrid – Córdoba - Málaga and Madrid - Segovia - Valladolid, Madrid - Cuenca - Valencia, Barcelona - Córdoba - Sevilla and Barcelona - Córdoba - Málaga.
- ALVIA trains run with speeds up to 220 km/h on the routes: Madrid - Gijón, Madrid - Santander, Madrid - Bilbao, Madrid - San Sebastián - Irún/Hendaya Madrid - Albacete - Valencia - Castelló, Madrid - Alicante, Madrid - Sevilla- Cádiz, Madrid - sevilla- Huelva, Madrid - Pamplona, Madrid - Logroño, Madrid - Vitoria, Barcelona - Vigo, Barcelona - Monforte (+ shuttle to a Coruña), Barcelona - Irún - Hendaye, Barcelona - Bilbao.
- EUROMED trains run at 124 mph (200 km/h) on the line: Barcelona – Valencia/Alicante
- ALTARIA trains run at 124 mph (200 km/h) on the following routes: Madrid - Córdoba - Algeciras, Madrid - Granada, Madrid - Murcia - Cartagena.
International trains:
Elipsos TrainHotel (night train) operates on the following routes between France and Spain:
• Paris - Madrid (Francisco de Goya)
• Paris - Barcelona (Joan Miró)
Elipsos trains operate on the following routes between Spain and Switzerland and
between Spain and Italy:
• Barcelona - Zürich (Pau Casals)
• Barcelona - Milano (Salvador Dalí)
www.elipsos.com
Lusitania TrainHotel (night train) operates on the route Madrid-Lisboa.
TGV Figueres Vilafant - Paris two times by day. There are shuttle trains between
Barcelona Sants and Figueres Vilafant. Eurail passes are valid on these
trains. TGV supplement for 1st and 2nd class: €3.
Talgo Mare Nostrum: Lorca - Montpellier
Visit the RENFE website or Download rail map of Spain (PDF, 0,4 MB)
Explanation of the legenda: lines indicated in blue (ADIF) are trains operated by RENFE, free for Pass holders (reservation fees possible). On the lines in yellow (Feve) and orange (FGC) Pass holders get 50% discount. Passes are not valid on the lines operated by FGV, SFM and ET. "Línea de Alta Velocidad" means high-speed line (like AVE).
Classes
In Spanish high-speed trains like AVE, 2nd class is called 'Turista', 1st class is indicated as 'Preferente' or the more luxurious 'Club' / Business.
The Elipsos night trains use the indications 'Turista', 'Preferente' or 'Grande Clase'.
Local, regional or TRD Avant trains do not have class distinctions.
Please note that most trains in Spain have compulsory reservations. Costs for making a reservations for these domestic day trains are:
- Arco, Talgo, Diurno
Reservation: compulsory
Fees: 2nd class: € 6,50 / 1st class: € 10 - Avant
Reservation: compulsory
Fees: € 10 (no class distinction) - AVE
Reservation: compulsory. First class includes drink and meal.
Fees: 2nd class: € 10 / 1st class: € 23,50 - Euromed, Alvia, Alaris, Altaria
Reservation: compulsory. First class includes drink and meal.
2nd class: € 6,50 / 1st class: € 23,50 - TRD
Reservation: compulsory
fees: € 4,50 (no class distinction)
Scenic routes
- Madrid - Aranda - Burgos
- Barcelona - Puigcerdà
- Algeciras - Ronda
- Huesca - Canfranc
Airport station links
From Barcelona El Prat airport there are train connections to Barcelona Sants (every 30 minutes).
From Madrid Barajas airport there are connections using the underground to Madrid N. Ministerios. Eurail Passes are not valid here. From the airport station (in Terminal 4) there are trains to Madrid Chamartín, Sol and Atocha stations (every 30 minutes).
From Valencia Manises airport there are metro transfers to Valencia Nord via metro Valencia. Eurail Passes are not valid here.
From Málaga aiport there are train connections to Málaga María Zambrano (every 30 minutes).
Eurail Aid Offices
For questions about Eurail, you can go to the international ticket office at any of the following railway stations: Estación Barcelona-Sants, Estación Barcelona-França, Estación Madrid-Chamartín, Estación Sevilla-Santa Justa (Seville) and Estación Valencia-Joaquín Sorolla.
See Eurail Aid Offices for details and more aid offices in Europe.
