Renfe
Renfe Operadora is a Spanish state-owned railroad company. It operates comfortable high-speed trains, various regional trains and suburban trains.
Summary
- FIP free tickets are accepted on commuter trains (mainly suburban trains), but not on trains requiring reservations.
- For trains requiring reservations, tickets can be purchased at the FIP Global Fare (regardless of distance), including the reservation; FIP Coupons are not needed.
- FIP is not accepted on Avlo trains.
- For international AVEs between Madrid and Marseille as well as Lyon and Barcelona, the same FIP global prices apply as for domestic AVEs.
Validity of FIP tickets
FIP free ticket: ✅ (exceptions: trains requiring reservations)
FIP Coupons for relatives: ⛔
FIP 50 tickets: ✅ (exceptions: trains requiring reservations)
FIP Global Fare: ✅ for trains subject to reservation except Avlo
Train Categories and Reservations
Only commuter trains can be used without restrictions with FIP Coupons. For other trains, a ticket at the FIP Global Fare usually needs to be purchased.
Long distance
Middle distance
Local transportation
Class Categories
Elige Estándar / Turista: Comparable to 2nd class. More Information
Elige Confort: An XL Comfort seat without catering. Is comparable to 1st class. A 1st class FIP Card is required. More Information
Premium: An XL Comfort seat including catering. Comparable to 1st class. A FIP-Card 1st class is required. More Information
Ticket and Reservation Purchase
Online
It is not possible to book reservations, FIP Global Fare or FIP 50 online.
By telephone
It seems to be not possible to book FIP-Tickets by telephone with Renfe. The hotline asks you to use the on-site ticket counters.
On-site
DB Ticket Office
FIP Global Fare
Tickets for trains requiring reservations can be sold at DB Travel Centers. Please ensure that either “T” (for Elige Estándar / Turista) or “P” (for Elige Confort) is specified as the class. If 1st class or 2nd class is selected as the class, tickets will not be issued with an error message. A booking of Premium class tickets is not possible through Deutsche Bahn’s sales channels. It has also been reported that the booking of class “P” sometimes fails, in which case a booking of class “T” often works. There is no booking fee.
FIP 50 Tickets
At DB ticket offices, FIP 50 Tickets can be purchased for journeys within Germany and to many European countries.
It is also possible to issue FIP 50 Tickets where only the section outside Germany is charged, and an additional ticket is required for the German section. This is especially important for DB employees, as FIP 50 Tickets are not valid in their home country.
Reservations
The reservation price is calculated per journey. This means that for connections with transfers, you only need to pay once for multiple trains.
Reservations can be made not only for Germany but also for a large number of trains throughout Europe.
DB Ticket Office
FIP Global Fare
Tickets for trains requiring reservations can be sold at DB Travel Centers. Please ensure that either “T” (for Elige Estándar / Turista) or “P” (for Elige Confort) is specified as the class. If 1st class or 2nd class is selected as the class, tickets will not be issued with an error message. A booking of Premium class tickets is not possible through Deutsche Bahn’s sales channels. It has also been reported that the booking of class “P” sometimes fails, in which case a booking of class “T” often works. There is no booking fee.
FIP 50 Tickets
At DB ticket offices, FIP 50 Tickets can be purchased for journeys within Germany and to many European countries.
It is also possible to issue FIP 50 Tickets where only the section outside Germany is charged, and an additional ticket is required for the German section. This is especially important for DB employees, as FIP 50 Tickets are not valid in their home country.
Reservations
The reservation price is calculated per journey. This means that for connections with transfers, you only need to pay once for multiple trains.
Reservations can be made not only for Germany but also for a large number of trains throughout Europe.
On the train
If there is no Renfe sales outlet at the departure station, tickets can be purchased on the train.
Discounts
Children up to the age of 4 travel free of charge, provided they do not require their own seat. Children up to the age of 12 receive a 40% discount on the adult fare. Persons aged 12 and over pay the adult fare.
Special Tariff Conditions
Interruption of Travel
With FIP 50 and FIP Global Fare tickets, the journey may not be interrupted along the way.2
Recommendations
Renfe can often be compared more to an airline than to other railway companies. Luggage checks are common on long-distance routes, and there are few trains that allow spontaneous boarding. Therefore, an FIP Coupon is only marginally worthwhile, as it can be used in only a few cases. Due to ticket barriers at many stations, staff must be contacted each time in order to open them with the free travel pass. Personal experience shows that especially in the greater Madrid area, the free travel option is sometimes not recognized, and access is consequently denied.
Sources
