High-speed trains start running to Granada...

We were on the bus from Madrid to Granada last month--4 hrs 30 minutes. It was a nice, smooth ride.

The fast train is 3 hrs 19 minutes.--little over an hour faster. Advantage: The Train.

This was quietly discussed on the Spain forum last month when folks were looking to buy tickets for travel after June 24th. I had to go to the Renfe site to see how to get to Sevilla from Granada as that was often a confusion for the past 4 years. The bus/train combo was not an easy grasp for folks who tend to travel by car only in their home country.
It seems there is still a transfer, but it is in Cordoba. Depending on the time, it may be a fast speed both trains, or medium speed both trains, or a combo of the two. Fast train is 2hrs 20 minutes but other alternatives are all over 3 hours, which makes the bus from Granada to Sevilla still a practical (and much less costly) option.
Good to know those beautiful but empty train lines I saw from the bus are finally being used.

Hi Maria,

The bus/train combo was not an easy grasp for folks who tend to travel by car only in their home country.

I agree. When my mom and I traveled from Córdoba to Granada, and then Granada to Sevilla, [October of 2015], we took the ALSA bus on these routes mainly because there were more time options, and I didn't want the hassle of transferring from train to bus and vice versa.

Maria I'm confused by your comment here:

It seems there is still a transfer, but it is in Cordoba. Depending on the time, it may be a fast speed both trains, or medium speed both trains, or a combo of the two. Fast train is 2hrs 20 minutes but other alternatives are all over 3 hours, which makes the bus from Granada to Sevilla still a practical (and much less costly) option.

When I checked Renfe, on the route Granada to Sevilla, there are some time options where passengers need to transfer in Osuna but I don't see any that require a transfer in Córdoba. Would you please clarify what you meant? Thanks!

Priscilla, I went to Renfe site and picked some date later in July. As I couldn't choose 'all' stations, I chose Sevilla -Sant Justa station, morning departures from Granada.
Every option indicated 2 trains, though I may have only opened 2 of the 5 options - the AVE/AVE and the AVE/med options seemed to indicate Cordoba was the change location. Granted my spanish isn't perfect, they aren't confusing timetables......but maybe they are🤔
What I would have liked to have found was a detailed train map but when I looked last month, I couldn't find one to indicate the Granada-Sevilla route. I didn't have time to look today.

Maria,

Every option indicated 2 trains, though I may have only opened 2 of the 5 options - the AVE/AVE and the AVE/med options seemed to indicate Cordoba was the change location.

You're absolutely correct! Oops! I only checked the MD trains when checking Granada to Sevilla.

Here's a map showing the high- speed train routes within Spain

One can also check the route (and maps) for all trains within Spain here: Renfe.com/viajeros/nuestros trenes.
I tried to find this information in English but only found it in Spanish.

Thanks Priscilla. The wiki map still shows part of the route to Seville as under construction, but I am sure time will fix that. I can't get Flash on my tablet, so can't see the Renfe routes but a PC will fix that little obstacle. At least now we know where to look.

When I was going from Toledo to Barcelona, which always requires a change in Madrid, the Renfe site only showed me two options for the whole day, when I knew there were lots more. I had to use the Bahn (German rail) website to find all my options, then book it on Renfe as two separate tickets (Toledo to Madrid, then Madrid to Barcelona).

So, it's possible the Renfe site isn't showing all options when a connection is involved (I haven't checked for the new routes to Granada).

Harold, I think you are right. When I looked at Renfe not too long ago, I saw that there were considerably more options with a transfer in Antequera.

I agree Renfe is very specific and if I had chosen a different station may have got different options. Antequerra makes more sense. They had built a new track from there. I think it is still to early for some generic searching to find penultimate answers....and I am miffed about how little internal details are given on Seat61. It is written for multi country trips rather than a visitor to Spain resource.