Renfe
Renfe Operadora is a Spanish state-owned railroad company. It operates comfortable high-speed trains, various regional trains and suburban trains.
Summary
- FIP free tickets are accepted on commuter trains (mainly suburban trains), but not on trains requiring reservations.
- For trains requiring reservations, tickets can be purchased at a flat rate including reservation, FIP free coupons are not required.
- FIP is not accepted on Avlo and metro trains.
Validity of FIP tickets
FIP free ticket: ✅ (exceptions: trains requiring reservations)
FIP free travel for relatives: ⛔
FIP 50 tickets: ✅ (exceptions: trains requiring reservations, metro)
FIP global price: ✅ for trains subject to reservation except Avlo
Train categories and reservations
Long distance
AVE ⚠️
Description:
Long-distance connections with high-speed trains (up to 300 km/h). FIP free travel passes are not accepted.
Reservation possible: yes
Reservation required: ⚠️ yes
FIP global price (independent of distance):
- 10 € (Elige)
- 13 € (Elige Confort)
- 23,50€ (Premium)
AVE ⚠️
Description:
Long-distance connections with high-speed trains (up to 300 km/h). FIP free travel passes are not accepted.
Reservation possible: yes
Reservation required: ⚠️ yes
FIP global price (independent of distance):
- 10 € (Elige)
- 13 € (Elige Confort)
- 23,50€ (Premium)
Avlo ⚠️
Beschreibung:
Low-cost high-speed trains (up to 300 km/h).
⚠️ FIP is not accepted.
Avlo ⚠️
Beschreibung:
Low-cost high-speed trains (up to 300 km/h).
⚠️ FIP is not accepted.
Euromed ⚠️
Beschreibung:
High-speed trains that can be re-gauged (Figueres <-> Alicante). FIP free travel passes are not accepted.
Reservierung möglich: yes
Reservierungspflicht: ⚠️ yes
FIP Globalpreis (Distanzunabhängig):
- 6,50 € (Elige)
- 10 € (Elige Confort)
- 23,50€ (Premium)
Euromed ⚠️
Beschreibung:
High-speed trains that can be re-gauged (Figueres <-> Alicante). FIP free travel passes are not accepted.
Reservierung möglich: yes
Reservierungspflicht: ⚠️ yes
FIP Globalpreis (Distanzunabhängig):
- 6,50 € (Elige)
- 10 € (Elige Confort)
- 23,50€ (Premium)
Alvia ⚠️
Beschreibung:
High-speed trains that can be re-gauged (up to 250 km/h). FIP free travel passes are not accepted.
Reservierung möglich: yes
Reservierungspflicht: ⚠️ yes
FIP Globalpreis (Distanzunabhängig):
- 6,50 € (Elige)
- 10 € (Elige Confort)
Alvia ⚠️
Beschreibung:
High-speed trains that can be re-gauged (up to 250 km/h). FIP free travel passes are not accepted.
Reservierung möglich: yes
Reservierungspflicht: ⚠️ yes
FIP Globalpreis (Distanzunabhängig):
- 6,50 € (Elige)
- 10 € (Elige Confort)
Intercity (IC) ⚠️
Beschreibung:
Passenger trains between regional and high-speed services (up to 250 km/h). FIP free travel passes are not accepted.
Reservierung möglich: yes
Reservierungspflicht: ⚠️ yes
FIP Globalpreis (Distanzunabhängig):
- 6,50 € (Elige)
- 10 € (Elige Confort)
Intercity (IC) ⚠️
Beschreibung:
Passenger trains between regional and high-speed services (up to 250 km/h). FIP free travel passes are not accepted.
Reservierung möglich: yes
Reservierungspflicht: ⚠️ yes
FIP Globalpreis (Distanzunabhängig):
- 6,50 € (Elige)
- 10 € (Elige Confort)
Middle distance
Avant ⚠️
Description:
High-speed trains, travel time < 90 minutes. FIP free travel passes are not accepted.
Reservation possible: yes
Reservation required: ⚠️ yes
FIP global price (independent of distance): 4€
Avant ⚠️
Description:
High-speed trains, travel time < 90 minutes. FIP free travel passes are not accepted.
Reservation possible: yes
Reservation required: ⚠️ yes
FIP global price (independent of distance): 4€
MD ⚠️
Description:
Accelerated regional transport. FIP free travel vouchers are only accepted on trains that do not require reservations. Currently, this is only the case on the Barcelona (Girona-Figueres)-Port Bou route.
Reservation possible: yes
Reservation required: ⚠️ yes (exception: Barcelona(-Girona-Figueres)-Port Bou route1)
FIP coupons: Only valid on the route Barcelona(-Girona-Figueres)-Port Bou1.
FIP global price (regardless of distance): 4€
MD ⚠️
Description:
Accelerated regional transport. FIP free travel vouchers are only accepted on trains that do not require reservations. Currently, this is only the case on the Barcelona (Girona-Figueres)-Port Bou route.
Reservation possible: yes
Reservation required: ⚠️ yes (exception: Barcelona(-Girona-Figueres)-Port Bou route1)
FIP coupons: Only valid on the route Barcelona(-Girona-Figueres)-Port Bou1.
FIP global price (regardless of distance): 4€
Local transportation
Cercanías / Rodalia / Aldiriak
Description:
Commuter trains, comparable to suburban trains. FIP free tickets are valid without restrictions.
Reservation required: no
FIP coupons are valid.
Cercanías / Rodalia / Aldiriak
Description:
Commuter trains, comparable to suburban trains. FIP free tickets are valid without restrictions.
Reservation required: no
FIP coupons are valid.
Metro Services ⚠️
Description:
⚠️ FIP is not accepted
Metro Services ⚠️
Description:
⚠️ FIP is not accepted
Class categories
Elige Standard / Turista
Comparable to 2nd class
Elige Standard / Turista
Comparable to 2nd class
Elige Confort
1st class without meals. A 1st class FIP Card is required.
Elige Confort
1st class without meals. A 1st class FIP Card is required.
Premium
1st class incl. meal. A FIP-Card 1st class is required.
Premium
1st class incl. meal. A FIP-Card 1st class is required.
International connections
Celta: Porto ↔️ Vigo
The Celta is an international cooperation train between Renfe and the Portuguese CP.
FIP global price (regardless of distance): 4 €
Celta: Porto ↔️ Vigo
The Celta is an international cooperation train between Renfe and the Portuguese CP.
FIP global price (regardless of distance): 4 €
Ticket and reservation purchase
Online
- It is not possible to book reservations, FIP global price or FIP 50 online.
By telephone
- It is possible to book by telephone with Renfe, but the ticket must be collected from a Spanish counter within a few days.
On-site
DB Travel Center: Tickets for trains requiring reservations can be sold at DB Travel Centers. Please ensure that either “T” (for Turista) or “P” (for Preferente) is specified as the class. If 1st class or 2nd class is selected as the class, tickets will not be issued with an error message. It has also been reported that the booking of class “P” sometimes fails, in which case a booking of class “T” often works. There is no booking fee.
Sales points of Renfe in Spain: All tickets subject to reservation and tickets without reservation (FIP 50) can be booked at Renfe points of sale. An additional fee of €0.55 is charged for tickets requiring a reservation.
On the train
- If there is no Renfe sales outlet at the departure station, tickets can be purchased on the train.
Discounts
Children up to the age of 4 travel free of charge, provided they do not require their own seat. Children up to the age of 12 receive a 40% discount on the adult fare. Persons aged 12 and over pay the adult fare.
Arrival and Border Points
France
From Paris, direct TGV trains operated by the French SNCF run to Barcelona. Renfe also operates cross-border services between Lyon and Barcelona. FIP global fares are available with both operators, although they can be very expensive. Overall, there are very few cross-border connections, and the network was significantly better developed just a few years ago.
Portugal
Connections between Spain and Portugal are currently very limited. For example, to travel from Lisbon to Madrid, one must change trains and take a long regional journey to the Spanish border at Badajoz, where one of the few trains to Madrid can be caught. This requires FIP tickets or free passes from Portuguese rail operator CP, as well as a Renfe ticket for the Spanish section. Additionally, there is the Celta connection from Porto to Vigo, although this does not extend further into Spain. A FIP global fare is valid for the entire route. A continuous high-speed rail line between Lisbon and Madrid is currently under development.
Border Points
Border points
| Railway operator | Border Points |
|---|---|
| CP | Ayamonte, Badajoz (fr), Barca de Alva (fr), Fuentes de Onoro (fr), Valença (fr), Valencia de Alcántara (fr) |
| SNCF | Canfranc (fr), Hendaye (fr), Port-Bou (fr), La Tour-de-Carol-Enveitg |
Border points
| Railway operator | Border Points |
|---|---|
| CP | Ayamonte, Badajoz (fr), Barca de Alva (fr), Fuentes de Onoro (fr), Valença (fr), Valencia de Alcántara (fr) |
| SNCF | Canfranc (fr), Hendaye (fr), Port-Bou (fr), La Tour-de-Carol-Enveitg |
Special Tariff Conditions
Interruption of Travel
With FIP 50 and FIP Global Price tickets, the journey may not be interrupted along the way.2
Experiences
Renfe can often be compared more to an airline than to other railway companies. Luggage checks are common on long-distance routes, and there are few trains that allow spontaneous boarding. Therefore, an FIP free travel pass is only marginally worthwhile, as it can be used in only a few cases. Due to ticket barriers at many stations, staff must be contacted each time in order to open them with the free travel pass. Personal experience shows that especially in the greater Madrid area, the free travel option is sometimes not recognized, and access is consequently denied.
Sources
