Hi all. I've been watching Renfe for the ticket I wanted to purchase on January 10 from Valencia to Cordoba. There was one available at 9:14am that was the fastest,. As of a few days ago, it wasn't yet available. This morning it shows that the train is full. Can that be correct? If so, I guess the only other option I have is one of the other times, with a change in Madrid, correct?
Thank you for any help you can offer.
It does help, thank you.
In looking at the other tickets, one has a connection at Atocha with only 2 minutes to change trains. Are the platforms right next to one another, so I just hop off one and on to the other?
The other option has me getting off the train at Chamartin, then getting on another at Atocha with about 30 minutes between them. How does that work?
Edit to add: Per the man in seat 61, it looks like I would be able to take a free shuttle from Chamartin to Atocha that runs every 3-9 minutes and take 10-15 minutes. That's cutting it close!
I appreciate the help. I'm afraid I underestimated the complexity of this part of my plan.
There’s no need to worry, sometimes tickets are not available to purchase less than 30 days prior. That was my experience for a recent trip.
Prior to the release the timetable showed “train full” on the date I was interested in. It’s not true though.
So I should/can just wait? How long is it safe to wait until buying a ticket in January? I checked Trainline too. They say "not available to buy".
I think you have no choice but to wait. Would not be surprised if the tickets would be released on Dec 10th or several days later. That would be in line with my recent experience. I doubt the beginning of Jan would be in great demand anyhow.
Thank you for responding. I'll keep checking and try not to worry for now.
I am looking at Trainline.com. Tickets for the 9:14am train are available up until December 14 and then on no dates after that. So I agree that you wait and keep checking regularly until your date is released.
You’re running into the timeline for the release of the revised European train timetables which will occur at midnight on December 14.
Some national train companies will not release train tickets for sale until after that time.
Trainline, which Renfe contracts with to sell its train tix, sometimes has Renfe tickets for sale before Renfe does, so keep checking both websites.
This is a sector I have travelled on for the past 15 years. I’m also waiting to book Valencia to Cordoba for early 2025. The train you mention, the fastest departing at 9. 14 a.m. arriving Cordoba 12.42 p.m. (with no change in Madrid) is the one I have mostly travelled on.
As mentioned this option is currently only bookable up to 14 December. I’m hoping after 14 December this direct train will be introduced for early 2025, more than likely, but not 100% guaranteed.
If you decide not to wait to book for 10 January, and choose a train via Madrid with a tight connection i.e. 30 mins, you might consider booking two separate tickets to allow extra time in Madrid. 30 minutes is nowhere near enough time for me particularly at Madrid Atocha.
I book 1 ticket for Valencia to Madrid Atocha, and a 2nd ticket for Madrid Atocha to Cordoba. It doesn’t cost much more but alleviates the stress of a 30 minute connection.
The train I will be booking on the same sector as you, if the direct one doesn’t open up for 2025 is:
1st Ticket - Departing Valencia 6.57 am arriving Madrid ATOCHA at 9.08 a.m.
2nd Ticket - Departing Madrid ATOCHA at either 10.00am or 10.25 am to Cordoba.
We find January is very busy on the trains.
I hope this makes sense.
When I've been to Spain, I always found the Renfe site so glitchy, I decided to use Trainline instead. I've never had a problem doing it that way. Just my experience of course, I'm sure many people have used the site with no problems.
