High-speed trains in "Puerta de Atocha" station (Madrid)
(Permítame
el lector hispanoparlante que dedique esta entrada a los muchos extranjeros que
visitan España, especialmente durante el verano. Por este motivo, el texto que
sigue a continuación está redactado en lengua inglesa)
Travel to
Spain is always a pleasant task in any month of the year, but it would be
particularly pleasant if you can do it without the car during this trip, just
taking the train. Spain has a large and modern railway network that we are
explaining to our foreign visitors in this blog. During the last 20 years the
conventional network has added a significant deployment of high-speed lines that
will much more pleasant a short trip between the major cities of our
country. We will describe the main features of the Spanish railway network and
how you can purchase tickets and access to trains.
If the person who comes to visit Spain is
arriving by air travel, some airports have connections to the rail network. There
are five main transportation hubs: Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona, Málaga, Valencia
and Jerez de la Frontera. From
the airport to these cities’ downtown the travel will be quick and convenient.
Tickets can be purchased at vending machines in the railroad station at the
airport stop.
The Spanish
railway network (Select to enlarge the maps)
The
main Spanish railway company is Renfe. The
trains run each day throughout an extensive network of nearly 15,500 km, of
which more than 3,000 high-speed lines. These are the maps of the Spanish state
railway lines.
To
travel in Spain for a short number of days the best option is the Renfe SpainPass. This
travel pass can be purchased through the following link of the official Renfe website
in English. If the traveler is not going to stay in Spain many days, is
advisable to use high-speed trains to visit many cities in a short time. If
travel is occasional, purchase of tickets can be made directly through this link.
In
the outskirts of large cities are suburban networks. The Commuter lines are
available at this link. In
the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, Palma of Majorca (Line M1 and Line M2) and Seville are also metro
networks.
In addition to the national railway network there
are regional networks in Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Majorca and Basque Country. You can visit the linked websites for their detailed maps and schedules.
Maps of the regional networks (Select to enlarge them)
Barcelona
Valencia
Mallorca
Basque Country
The
Spanish railway network has also connection with Portugal. There is a direct
train from Madrid to Lisbon, with a connection to Porto. It is also possible to
travel from Vigo in Galicia, in a direct train to Porto.
Railway
link with France (SNCF) is secured at the following border stations: Irun/Hendaye,
Portbou/Cerbère, Figueres-Vilafant and Latour-de-Carol. In the
Spanish station of Canfranc is possible to connect with the French railways
through a bus SNCF.
Most
Spanish railway networks have coverage for mobile phones, but the trains do not
have Wifi. The long distance trains carried a restaurant. Also in many regional
trains there are vending machines with beverages.
The
purchase of tickets for the national railway network can be made through the Renfe website, in vending machines
located in the stations and in the ticket offices.
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More information
- Renfe in Facebook and in Twitter
- Tracking the movement of trains in real time (reports any delays)
- The same information with geographical representation of the network
- Official website of Tourism in Spain
- Tracking the movement of trains in real time (reports any delays)
- The same information with geographical representation of the network
- Official website of Tourism in Spain
