Head Office
Renfe Operadora
Avda. Pio XII,
110. 28036, Madrid
Customer Service
Phone: 91 232 03 20 (general)
Phone: 91 919 05 04 (online sales)
Phone: 91 919 15 66 (+Renfe card)
Phone: 91 919 15 65 (baggage support)
Phone: 900 878 333 (report incident)
Email: trenesturisticosdelujo@renfe.es (tourist trains)
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About Renfe
Renfe is a Spanish train operator founded in 1941 and fully owned and managed by the state government. Headquartered at Madrid, Spain, Renfe employs more than 14,000 across the country and officially operates as Renfe Opearadora. With annual revenue of € 3.6bn, the state owned enterprise regularly operates freight, local and international trains. Renfe is short for Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles in Spanish.
One of the biggest public companies in Spain, Renfe’s short and long distance trains are branded under Ave, Altaria, Diurno, Alvia and AV City. Ave, a high speed train network, connects cities between, Madrid, Granada, Barcelona, Leon, Seville, Huesca, Valladolid, Malaga, Alicante, and Valencia. There are different trains for suburban trips, short and long-distance travel. While Ave is a high speed train, there is Alvia which operates at lower speeds and connects to destinations in Spain. Euromed trains connects Spain’s Mediterranean coast and Altaria connects to Murcia, Granada and Algeciras. Renfe’s night train service is called Trenhotel. Renfe’s main hubs are located at Madrid and Barcelona. Other classes include Club, Gran Comfort, Cama Gran Clase and Cama Preferente.
Travellers can see status and schedule of trains, along with the route map and train stops on the official Renfe website. By inputting the origin/destination and date on the search tool, you can see the available options and proceed to booking. Tickets can also be booked via smartphone app, at any of the nearest office and even at the station. Tickets online can be booked using major debit/credit cards. You can sign in to your account to view/manage trips.
As for ticket types, you have a myriad of options. They all vary in its rates and features. The list includes Adulto, Nino, Ida y Vuelta, Promo, Promo+, Flexible, and Turista Plus. The Promo fares are discounted for Ave and long distance trains. However, note that changes and cancellations are not allowed in this fare. If choosing Promo+ or Flexible ticket, there will refund on cancellation after deduction of a small service or processing fee. Promo+ ticket also gives you access to the Club Lounge. If you are a tourist, purchase the Renfe Spain Pass that is available in 4-10 trips (valid for 1 month). It allows travelling on national routes and will give you the benefit of convenient travel. The pass can be canceled within 24 hours after purchase without any additional charges. Also, the pass can be canceled up to 15 minutes before the train leaves.
For more comfortable journeys, book the Clase Preferente or Clase Turista Plus coach that comes with wider seats, TV screens, cafeteria and catering on board. If you are a frequent traveller, register for the +Renfe loyalty program to earn points on all journeys. You can redeem the points for tickets and travel products. The +Renfe tiers consist of Standard, Silver, Gold, and Premium. Interested members can apply for one on the website. For complaints or queries on schedule, tickets, cancellation, refund, career, or others, reach the Renfe support.
While on holiday in Madrid I decided to take the family to Toledo for the day’
on 25th October we tried to book tickets from MADRID train station to TOLEDO. The web site was down so we travelled to Madrid station and bought 4 adult return tickets at a cost of 88.80 Euro. It was only once purchased at 12.05 pm we realised the train left from Charmartain station and we were Atoche station ‘Realising we could get there in time to catch the train we went to customer services to change the tickets for a later train. We would not give us any refund as the train was due to go in 20minutes. We had to purchase another 4 adult single tickets at the time of 12.24pm at a cost of 55 .60 *tax. I was so angry as we had made a genuine mistake and went as soon as we realised to change the tickets. We caught a later train and had a lovely train journey out but felt we should have been allowed a refund/change of tickets at no extra cost than 88.80E.