Question regarding timed Renfe tickets

Not sure what you mean by a timed ticket? Do you have a reserved seat? Generally if you have a ticket for a specific train, at a specific time, in a specific car and seat, then the ticket is restricted to that specific use. If it is an open ticket, then it can be used on any train.

I think you covered my point in the first part of your response. However, since I have not bought a train ticket online with Renfe yet is there an option for purchasing a ticket without a specified time, seat, car, etc?

Hi Gabriel, it'd be far easier if you mention the specific route (origin/destination) because the answer so far is "it depends"... there are different factors that prevent a yes/no response.

Ok, say I was doing a day trip from Madrid to Toledo. I'm certainly going to be taking one of the first trains out. Now let's say I bought a ticket that had a return time out of Toledo at 8:00 pm (again, I don't know exactly what the ticket buying process is like on the Renfe website). Now let's say I wanted to leave on an earlier train. Can I do that or not?

Right... MAD-TOL can only be done on fast trains (AVE, Avant), not Cercanías (=short distance trains). In the first ones, tickets are issued for a specific train, so NO, you can't change it later UNLESS you've bought the full fare (Tarifa Flexible) which is the most expensive of them all. For Cercanías (should you want to go to other destinations) tickets are ALWAYS purchased on the spot at the station, so with a Cercanías train, you wouldn't have that problem Unfortunately not for MAD-TOL though as there are no Cercanías in that itinerary.

Regarding fares for the AVE trains, most users purchase promo tickets which are substantially cheaper than the full fare but also have restrictions, among which the inability to change schedules. So in your case you have two options: either purchase a return full fare and then change if necessary at no extra cost or else buy individual one-way tickets, noting that there are quite a few trains between these two cities.

There's also a bus service, should you care, www.alsa.es and tickets can be purchased either online or at the bus station on the day of the departure.

Gabriel, since you mentioned taking an early train to Toledo, it might be helpful if I share up-to-the-minute info I got yesterday from two other travelers I met here in Madrid.

The ticket machines at the Atocha RR Station did not like travellers' US credit card, and the machines don't take currency*, so they needed to use a staffed sales window. The lines were long enough that numbers were no longer being given out to those waiting to buy tickets. They decided to go to the El Corte Ingles ticket office and pay the minor fee.

Your credit card may work just fine in the RR ticket machines, but it sounds like it could be important to buy at least your first Spanish train ticket the night before use, rather than risking getting stuck in a long ticket line on your travel day.

• Edited to add: Per Enric's later post, I was wrong in stating that the ticket machines don't take currency, only credit cards. It seems that would only happen occasionally with individual machines. So that's one thing we don't have to worry about.

Thanks for the comments. I almost always buy my train tickets prior to leaving the states. And your example is a good reason for that. When it comes time to buy the tickets I'll just look at the options I have. I'll be in Toledo mid-September and read that evening train tickets back to Madrid may be sold out. However, in the off chance I decide to leave Toledo a little earlier I just wanted to know what my options were in case I already had bought a train ticket in advance.

Beg your pardon?... all ATMs at the stations accept both cash and ccards -except if a particular ATM has a specific incident (ie. have no more cash to return change, much like any banks' ATM, or being temporarily offline for whatever reason...). In fact, the whole purpose of the ATMs is precisely to make more agile the use of the train network. So if your friends were not able there surely was another reason or it was a rare exception.

As per ccards that's indeed a problem for some American visitors since not all your cards are already up to the same security standards than ours here in Europe (fresh from this month) and that's why sometimes your cards are refused. Having said that, this day and age, most US-issued cards have been already updated so you shouldn't find major issues. Check with your bank before travelling. Obviously, sometimes might be refused for other reasons, including a temporary malfunction of the system, so "try again" -I've done consultancy for some banking projects and I do know technology fails too, lol! ;)

Anyhow, acraven's advise is good: better safe than sorry, just in case... buy the day before if you can :)

PS: Yet Gabriel, note that TOL-MAD is sort of a commuting itinerary for many so it's very unlikely you'd be 'stuck' in Toledo: either the 'next' train or the bus -or worst case scenario a taxi (it's merely 60 miles). Just sayin' But again, unless if a Tarifa Flexible (full fare), you won't be able to change your ticket to an earlier train.

Thanks for correcting my misinformation, Enric. I've edited my post.

For info: long distance/AVE ATM. Not all stations have these ATMs but that's pretty much common for long distance/fast trains -which, incidentally, stop in the major hubs only. Zoom in and note the different payment methods, which include also contactless cards and payments with your mobile (cellular phone!).

For Cercanías (Rodalies in Catalonia), that is, short distance and regional trains, this is what the ATM looks like (the one in the right!) Yet in Catalonia their look is another as the authority managing these type of lines is different, like this.

In all cases, the menus can be easily switched to a number of languages, including English and the purchasing process is sort of idiot-proof (good enough for me!) as it's all guided and (fairly) intuitive.

PS: You might also encounter some older models so please take the above pictures just a reference :))

I have also purchased train tickets in Spain online. Many hotels have a computer & printer for guest use, or they will buy for you on their computer and print the ticket. For the AVE trains, I think they stop selling online a couple hours before departure, but for other trains, you can buy/print and then go to the station. Renfe doesn't accept some US cards, but you can use PayPal. It's worth the small fee to avoid the lines.

Toledo-Madrid in the afternoon can be a problem. On Friday afternoon I went to the Toledo station, thought I'd just buy a ticket for the 3.30 train and hop on. It was February, there weren't a lot of day-trippers in town, and isn't commuter traffic into Madrid in the morning? The train was sold out, had to hang around the station (a beautiful one) for an hour for the next train, also full.

... it's an all day commuting line not only during rush hour.

Another option/avenue for Renfe ticket purchases is to obtain a Tarjeta Dorada. This is a discount card for those 60 years old or older. It costs about 6 euro and can only be purchased in Spain. It offers discounts of up to 40% off walk up ticket prices on weekdays, and 25% off on the weekends. I often buy my first train ticket online, in advance. then as I arrive in each city I buy my ticket to the next town before leaving the station, using my card. My savings is a little less than if I bought all of my tickets online, but I have much, much more flexibility, as I am able to change these tickets if need be.

I went by Madrid-Atocha this evening to buy my Tarjeta Dorada. Eventually, the Info desk pointed me to the right place, and I was successful, but not before I discovered that there were so many folks waiting for the staffed sales counters that they had stopped issuing numbered tickets to potential purchasers. Perhaps this is primarily an evening phenomenon.

The info desk fellow kept insisting I could just buy my regional ticket to Cuenca 20 minutes before the train departs. Don't think I'm prepared to take that risk.

Many of us here have been saying for a long time that ticket lines at Atocha are horrendous and not to wait until day-of to buy your tickets. I've waited 90 minutes before.

Heck, even some TSA lines are shorter than that ;-)

An other option when lines are long to have cash and use the machines.
We were early at the train station in Cordoba and was told if we wanted to take an earlier train if it was the same type of ticket we could. If not we would have to pay the difference. We had avant tickets and there were only Ave earlier trains so didnt test it.