Train tickets

https://www.renfe.com/es/en

Hello Becky,

Spanish train tickets are available about 2-months ahead. You can buy them online through Renfe, the official Spanish Railway website, but it doesn't accept all U.S. credit cards and it's a bit quirky. I prefer to use Trainline, which sells tickets at about the same prices, and find it much easier to use. Trainline also sells tickets for OUIGO and Iryo trains, which are not sold through Renfe.

Buen Viaje!

There are 3 passenger train companies in Spain, Renfe (the national train company), Iryo, and Ouigo. You can use any of them pretty interchangeably. Service will not be significantly different. I would just book the lowest price/ most convenient time for your needs.

There a few different aggregator websites to search multiple train carriers. The Train Line or Rome2Rio will have listings of all the different lines on the city pair you search. I would do the research on those aggregator websites and then book directly on Renfe, Iryo or Ouigo's website. Some people have trouble with the Renfe website, and it might be slightly easier to use the Renfe smartphone app to book your tickets.

I've taken the Renfe business/premium class with the "Comfort seat," it doesn't make a big difference for a two hour train trip honestly.

They're all going to allow you to bring a carry-on size suitcase. If you have a very large suitcase, there may be an additional fee.

....If you have a very large suitcase, there may be an additional fee...... If that is true, then it is a recent change in policy as we have never encountered any luggage check or fees or limits. Since there is no "check-in" I am not sure where the check or how they would collect a fee. If you can carry it on, it is yours. Spanish trains do have a very light screening of you and your luggage at the head of the platform. Nothing as through as an airport screening. Personally I think standard, economy, 2ns class tickets are fine. Train travel is easy and convenient.

The only time I have heard of any luggage fees are with the cheapest tickets on trains operated by Iryo, which charges extra for bigger bags. I have never had this happen on any other Spanish trains.

Thanks all!

Do not use Rome2Rio for research on train schedules. It can by laughably inaccurate, and there are much better sources.

Trainline now (usually?) adds a modest service fee to the cost of train tickets. I'd try to purchase from the operating rail company first and switch to Trainline only if I couldn't get the initial purchase to go through. I had no trouble with Renfe in 2019, but I know the payment step is a problem rather often on Renfe.com.

The Renfe app on iOS has become surprisingly good. Very easy to check schedules and buy tickets, and also to show tickets when it's time to board. Also keeps track of your 'Renfecitos' loyalty point awards (I have a whopping 66 of them now)

Thanks! I checked the schedule for December 9th, and there are 4 trains listed from Seville to Granada. Is this the "whole" schedule? Or could there be more times released at a later date?

"You can buy them online through Renfe, the official Spanish Railway website"

To be pedantic, that is not the official Spanish Railway website. It is the website of Renfe which is the main, but not only, rail operator in Spain. It will sell its own tickets and tickets for its subsidiaries like Ovila. But it won't tell you about the competition.
Often, Renfe will be the only choice, but for Cordoba to Madrid, at least two other companies run that route - Iryo and Ouigo.
So, I'd use an agency like Trainline, which will show all the options. Then, once decided, you can book direct with the company you prefer.

"there are 4 trains listed from Seville to Granada. Is this the "whole" schedule? Or could there be more times released at a later date?"

Four or so direct trains a day is probably the limit of what you can expect. There will be more options if you are happy to change along the way.

That isn't a major route. I doubt there will be any more direct services in December.

There is a coach (bus) service as an alternative.

"To be pedantic, that is not the official Spanish Railway website"

To be pedantic, actually it is. Renfe IS the official rail operator of Spain: "Renfe is the Spanish state-owned railway operator responsible for running most passenger and freight trains on Spain's extensive rail network, including high-speed lines like the AVE and regional services. Known as the Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (Spanish National Railway Network)

While there are other operators running trains in Spain - OUIGO (French) and Iryo (Italian), they are not associated with Renfe, even though they operate within Spain.

I love the word "pedantic". I once had a boyfriend who responded to my accusations with the oh-so-original comment, "I'm nobody's pet ant".

Another vote for Trainline. I'm feeling a bit of validation that an RSE employee admits to preferring Trainline over Renfe.

Rail ninja is easy to navigate.

Rail Ninja can be a great deal more expensive than direct purchase of train tickets. I recall earlier posts here to that effect. It's one thing to pay a modest service fee because you simply cannot get a rail-company website to work with your credit card (or for some other reason) when you're trying to snag an early-purchase discounted ticket while those are still available; it's a different story if you're paying a huge mark-up. It's really important to look at the operating-company website first, so you know what the actual ticket cost is and can make an informed decision about how much you're willing to pay for convenience. Then there's the question of whether you'll ever get the ticket you've paid for.

Those considering use of Rail Ninja should stop right now and Google "Reviews Rail Ninja".

So, to clarify, countries in the EU no longer have “official” or “state” railway companies as such (https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/rail/market_en). The rail market was gradually liberalised in four phases between 2010 and 2016.

Many former state-owned companies still have government participation, since rail transport is considered a strategic national asset, but the state now acts more like a regular shareholder. In many countries, the old state company was split into two (or more) entities: one is responsible for the infrastructure (tracks, stations, etc.) — in Spain, that’s ADIF — and another that manages traffic, services, and timetables — that’s RENFE.

In Spain, matters are somewhat more complex due to the country’s administrative structure, which comprises autonomous communities, each with its own parliament and government. That means in some cases (for example, Catalonia, my turf), part of the rail system management (RENFE) is co-managed locally. In Catalonia, for instance, another company, RODALIES, operates the commuter and regional RENFE trains, but not the high-speed ones, which are interregional. There’s also another operator, FGC, which runs local and suburban trains in and around the Barcelona metropolitan area in a different (physical) network.

All that said, in practice, in some countries (like Spain), the main shareholder of the former state railway company is still the national government. So even though these companies are technically private, in reality, it’s often the government that continues to make most of the key decisions. The liberalisation process opened up competition within Europe’s rail systems, but in practice, competition mostly exists on a few routes, especially high-speed ones. Building, managing, and maintaining a railway network is extremely expensive, so even with liberalisation, it’s unlikely we’ll see real competition across all lines.

In short, there’s no longer an “official national railway company” in the EU. All are technically private companies with shareholders competing under the same rules, although not all of them started on equal footing.

Also, so you know, in Spain there are 13 (thirteen!) companies offering passenger services. And despite their different sizes, all of them are relevant because each one of us has different needs. For example, if you’re travelling to Manresa for the pilgrimage along the ‘Via Ignasiana,’ the company you need is FGC, not RENFE, OUIGO, or any of the more well-known operators. The same goes for other touristy corners of Spain, like Gernika or Lekeitio in Basque Country, Cudillero or Santillana del Mar in Northern Spain or Alcoi in Valencia.

PS. I swear I’m not trying to play the know-it-all here, but I figure it’s worth explaining how the whole EU railway circus works so folks coming from abroad don’t think we’re just making it up as we go LOL!
(sorry Becky for hijacking the thread!)

Enric, thanks for your very informative post. I find it extremely interesting, as well as useful.