Free train travel in Spain

The routes you cite as being under 300km are served mostly by long-distance trains, so they wouldn't qualify. There may be MD options, but far fewer than AVE or Avant.

I follow a few expat forums (a long-term goal/plan/fantasy), and even there, the consensus is that this is not as good as it seems.

I suggest going to Renfe.com and checking schedules. They'll show the type of train involved.

Here is the FAQ but it’s a lot to wade through. But looks like you can purchase more than one pass per person for the different routes and just have the multiple deposits.

Here’s a quote from the Season Pass page: “In some Media Distancia trains, prior reservation is necessary. For the benefit of all of us who use the train, do not make reservations that you do not need. And if you do them and you are not going to use them, cancel them so that other people can use that seat.”

But I will have to look at my routes and times to see if cost outweighs time.

I suggest going to Renfe.com and checking schedules

Yeah, I tried yesterday but their website was having issues ... more interested in the process of how this works in case I decide to go that route ... thanks

Here is the FAQ but it’s a lot to wade through.

Thanks TTM, I saw all that stuff, this might be more trouble than it's worth

What little I looked at it before I went to Spain in September, is that for those routes where travel was discounted, it required buying a commuter pass, or a 10 trip bundle for a single route. Basically the program is designed to encourage people to use the train for commutes rather than driving as an energy saving measure. Your analysis may come to a different conclusion, but I came to the conclusion that the program had no benefit for a visitor traveling from town to town.

The general idea with these discounts or free travel is to promote the use of public transport and reduce the use of your gas or diesel vehicle. It´s aimed at Spaniards that travel frequently or to commuters, thus the idea of purchasing travel passes. In the Basque Country, for example, all public transport costs 50% less if you pay with a transport card (Barik, Mugi or Bat, depending on the province), but not if you purchase a single ticket. Up to now, the estimation is that the use of vehicles has been reduced by 10 to 16%, and there are much less cars entering the cities every day. Not much, but it´s something.

I believe you are not eligible for this as you're not a resident.

I believe you are not eligible for this as you're not a resident.

"This new initiative, which officially launched in September 2022, allows anyone (including international tourists) to take advantage of free train travel on Spain’s commuter trains and medium-distance train journeys operated by the train line Renfe."

I've seen this and similar articles that state is it good for visitors also ... but I'm also seeing multiple different explanations on how this works so I've pretty much decided it's not worth the hassle of trying to figure it out and running into issues if I get it wrong, so back to the drawing board.

I think you have made the right choice. Make sure you have downloaded Renfe app. It makes thing so much easier.

As a Spaniard told us a few days ago, that with free tickets, people make reservations but don't turn up. The train might be listed as full, but they have plenty of empty seats. If there's a way to make a program backfire, people will find it.

RENFE is cancelling the free passes of those people that make bookings but do not use it, so right now it should be real occupation figures...or at least closest to what it was before this new cancelling policy.