Renfe offers free train tickets in Spain from tomorrow!

THE popular, and most importantly, free travel hack from Renfe rail company in Spain, is officially extending its services.

What began as a one off government initiative to help with the rising cost of living, is now being extended for a third time, as travellers across the country jump for joy! The travel card for free travel on local and medium distance train journeys will be available from tomorrow, Saturday, December 30, for both Spanish residents and tourists alike. These festive freebies come with the newest release of railcards for Renfe’s ‘Cercanias’ and ‘Media Distancia’ services. They will be available from tomorrow and are valid for train travel up until April 30 2024. 

The offer will be valid throughout the new year for four months at a time, with a new season ticket being necessary each time this particular period passes. A small deposit of €10 will be required for local journeys, or €20 for medium length journeys on acquiring the card, however, this amount will be returned in the case that more than 16 journeys are made in one time period. 

After certain problems arose last year which involved Media Distancia season ticket holders reserving several seats but only travelling on one or none at all, Renfe has now implemented stricter measures this time. These measures include the rule that passengers who are no longer going to be using the seat reserved with the season tickets are required to cancel it at least 60 minutes in advance. If, on at least three occasions, they have not completed the cancellation within this time, they will therefore not be able to purchase a new season ticket for the next 30 days. 

Renfe recommends that customers wishing to purchase a season ticket do so via the Renfe Cercanias app, or through their website, renfe.com, as to avoid unnecessary waiting.