Travel between Seville, Granada and Madrid

My suggestions are:
Seville to Granada - TRAIN, even though the bus is 15 minutes faster but there is a chance of traffic problems

Granada to Madrid - TRAIN - it is a bit more comfortable than the bus.

I am assuming that the construction at the Granada station was completed in 2017 as planned. If not completed you will ride a bus between Antequerra and Granada(1 hour). Renfe has this all worked out and it flow smoothly.

I think that you are looking at 15 minute difference between one or the other.
Have fun.

Whilst the train journey from Seville to Granada actually requires a bus connection, I would take a bus throughout.

There are no trains from Antequara to Granada at the moment because they are rebuilding the line as a high-speed connection. It should open next summer (2019)

It's been my understanding that the direct trains from Seville to Granada reopened about a year ago, while traffic from Madrid and the north still change to a bus at Antequera-Santa Anna. That's how Renfe shows it.

Thanks, everyone. I truly appreciate your updates and insight.

Short version:
I was just in Granada and did the Granada to Madrid train just following the torrential rains. There is a bus service from Granada to Antequera which is (inexplicably) faster that the scheduled rail service. They bussed us to Antequera in plenty of time to make our Madrid connection.

Longer version (with drama):
We showed up at the Granada train station with tickets and a couple of women from England said they had been bussed instead a few days before coming into Granada. This was the first sign that something was going on. Sure enough they set up the ticket window to check us to walk back out front - not towards the train track. There as much discussions and phone calls from behind the ticket desk. About the time we were supposed to leave they announced that there were no busses and no way to get to Antequera that day. People's inquiries about a taxi or some other service to Antequera was met with shrugs.

Since I had plane tickets out of Madrid the next day I was "concerned" to say the least. In the middle of the turmoil four busses showed up to the surprise of everyone - including Renfe staff. They then announced that Barcelona bound passengers should get on the bus, but when I asked about the Madrid passengers I was told to wait several times. Suddenly the announcement was made to get on this bus or that bus and there seemed to be no acknowledgement of the fact that they had 15 minutes earlier announced there was "no service" as if it never happened and they couldn't understand why people had questions.

In that moment the old Renfe (Really Exasperating and Not For Everyone) reared it's head and reminded me of Italian train service. But happy to be on a bus we soldiered on and made our connection. It's important to be continually optimistic when travelling.

Loco2 has a notice about it: https://help.loco2.com/article/393-granada-to-antequera-engineering-works
I used and had really good results booking with Loco2 even re-booking tickets through them with my phone in Toledo.

The train from Granada to Madrid is long and has a change in Antequera so you may have to decide if you want to leave early (I think is was ~6:45 which is really early in Spain) to have half a day in Madrid or leave later and arrive in Madrid in the evening.

Hope that helps,
=Tod

Kaopala,
You can certainly take the train from Sevilla to Granada, then from Granada to Madrid (long trek).

Since the railway is undergoing renovations around Granada, you’ll have to transfer to a bus (supplied by Renfe) at Antequera Santa Ana station. The bus will take you the rest of the journey to Granada‘s train station.

Likewise when traveling from Granada to Madrid; you’ll board a bus at Granada’s train station, then you will transfer to a train once you reach Antequera Santa Ana train station.

My mom (88 years old at the time) and I took the ALSA bus on this route, but in reverse (Granada to Sevilla), mainly because I wanted to avoid the transferring process from bus to train. The bus was very comfortable, and we didn’t have to worry about our luggage since it was in the hold of the bus.

If you have the time, do consider visiting Córdoba and changing your route to avoid the long trek from Granada to Madrid.
So your route would look like this: Córdoba >> Granada >> Sevilla >>Madrid.

You don’t mention when you’re going on this trip, but don’t forget to book your Alhambra tickets 3 months in advance!

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks again for your quick and helpful responses!

We just traveled that area. We wanted to spend time in the pueblos blancos so we had a car, so I can't help you with Sevilla to Granada. We dropped our car in Granada. We then went to Cordoba. I was told by our hotel person in Granada that there are NO trains out of Granada right now and that any travelers out of the Granada train station (and I would have to think into as well?) use a bus to Antequera and train from there. It certainly appeared to us that travelers at the Antequera were going to many destinations and there were no trains out of the Granada train station while we were there waiting for our bus. The buses from Granada were packed. The bus trip was fine other than it was crowded. My backpack (not a "suitcase" but bigger than a daypack) did not fit in the overhead area. The overhead was very small and I would imagine that would be a problem for many. There is the typical space in the belly of the bus for larger luggage. The transfer in Antequera was handled well. RENFRE had a rep meeting the buses to guide passengers. My only beef would be that obviously this all adds to travel time since not only did we have to make the switch, there was about a 45 minute wait for the train. While we were waiting in Antequera for our train to Cordoba, we noted that folks going to Madrid were stopping at several cities including Cordoba on the way.

I will also add a "plug" for Cordoba. We really enjoyed it and were there for a couple days. The Mezquita is beautiful and fascinating. Cordoba's jewish quarter and the patios are pretty wonderful. The river and bridge are quite scenic. It would be a way to split up that Granada to Madrid leg if you have the time. Factoring out the amazing Alhambra, we enjoyed the actual city of Cordoba better than Granada.

After reading your posts and hearing the latest about the bus out of Granada, we are seriously thinking of squeezing in a day-stop in Cordoba. However, I think we need to build in more time for travel between Spanish cities. Many thanks!