Free train journeys in Spain

Aimed at "regular" users, not to the odd user -like tourists would be. There's a 'deposit' to be made that will be returned at the end of the period if (if!) 16 trips have been made. This is to discourage casual users. Also, note that this does not include intra-regional trains or high-speed (like AVE or AVLO). For those, there are some special discounts, but again, for regular users.

It appears that the Guardian article has been edited. The original did explain that a deposit was required which to my recollection was somewhere in the region of €8 which would not be returned if you did not complete enough journeys but that would still be a saving on the cost of the tickets if they weren't free. Yes, the high speed trains are not covered but there are plenty of journeys that can be undertaken on the local and medium distance trains so it's still a good deal for tourists and not just commuters.

Yep technically you could, but you'll find out it's neither convenient nor financially worthwhile for someone just visiting.

• You need to register (mandatory!) on their website or app, which requires entering ID data, address and the lot. You'll notice no English version is available, again because this subsidy is aimed at regular train users only (=residents).
• The deposit for riding on COMMUTER lines is 10€ and for REGIONAL lines is 20€. This deposit will be returned at the end of the program in Dec, if (if!) 16 trips have been made. As a tourist, if you're going to make just one escapade during your holiday in Spain, you're better off purchasing a single full-fare return ticket. If you're planning on making two escapades, it'll depend on where you intend to go, but again, you'll probably break even. It is only after three or more return trips that this subsidy becomes interesting.
• The rest of the types of tickets (high speed, etc) are not included in the "ride-free" scheme albeit, during the validity of this subsidy (Sep-Dec) there are discounts in place for the passes (not for the single tickets!) which offer 10 journeys. Again, quite useless to the casual user as a tourist would be.
• Furthermore, this "ride-free" scheme ONLY applies to RENFE, not to other train operators (ie FGC in Catalonia) nor the city transport companies, namely metro, city buses or tramways. Still, these are offering temporary discounts during this period, f.e. in Barcelona, the T-Casual card for one zone is now 7.95€ instead of 11.35€. This is something visitors can also benefit from.

And I insist, the keyword is "regular users", that's what this subsidy is aimed to. Me, being a local, I don't normally ride the train so it's unlikely I will take advantage of this subsidy cause I'm better off purchasing a single return ticket if I need to ride once or twice.

STILL...

If anyone wants to explore this "ride-free" scheme, be my guest...

https://www.renfe.com/es/es/grupo-renfe/sociedades/renfe-viajeros/abonos-renfe