Renfe AVE from Madrid to Barcelona, at Madrid Atocha. Buy Renfe, Avlo or Ouigo tickets in , £ or $ and print your own ticket. More info on how to book.
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Choice of 3 high-speed train services...
The 621 km (386 mile) high-speed line from Barcelona to Madrid opened in 2008, and high-speed trains now link Barcelona Sants & Madrid Atocha in as little as 2h30 at up to 310 km/h (193 mph) with departures every hour or so. Before it opened, trains took 7 hours on the classic line. Spanish high-speed lines were opened up to competition in 2021, and you now have a choice of 3 train operators: Renfe (Spanish national railways), lo-cost operator Ouigo and lo-cost operator Avlo. You can compare prices and buy tickets for all 3 operators at www.thetrainline.com. This page will help you choose...
Option 2: Lo-cost Ouigo trains
Which train to choose?
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Renfe's AVE trains are the most frequent, with 10 or more departures a day from 19 upwards. Think of these as the normal 'full-service' Barcelona-Madrid trains, top choice for comfort. It's a normal train service, so no draconian luggage limits or extra fees to pay for suitcases or backpacks. There's a cafe-bar, and if you want a premium first class journey with at-seat food & wine included (when not affected by Covid-19), choose Premium Comfort class on an AVE. More about AVE trains.
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Ouigo is a new lo-cost operator, a subsidiary of SNCF French Railways. It offers around 5 departures per day from just 9. There are strict baggage limits, you need to pay an extra 5 for a suitcase or backpack. Ouigo trains are all one class, but there are several cars of roomier first class 'XL' seating for a 9 surcharge. There's a cafe-bar. More about Ouigo.
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Avlo is a new lo-cost operator, a subsidiary of Renfe Spanish Railways with around 3 departures per day from just 7. There are strict baggage limits, you need to pay an extra 10 for a suitcase or backpack. There's no cafe-bar, just vending machines, and no first class. More about Avlo.
Option 1: Renfe's AVE trains...
This is the principal train service between Barcelona & Madrid, with the most frequent departures. Renfe is Spain's national train operator, their premier high-speed trains are branded AVE which stands for Alta Velocidad Espaρola (Spanish High-Speed). It's also the Spanish for bird, hence the AVE logo. Most AVE services between Madrid & Barcelona are operated by luxurious S103 AVE trains built by Siemens (hence the resemblance to Germany's ICE3) as shown below.
AVEs are fully air-conditioned with free WiFi and power sockets at all seats. There's a convivial cafe-bar selling alcoholic & non-alcoholic drinks, snacks and hot dishes. As with most European trains, suitcases & backpacks can be taken at no extra cost, you just take it with you and put it on the luggage racks inside each car.
AVEs have 3 classes, originally named Turista, Preferente & Club where both Preferente & Club included at-seat food & wine. This was changed some years ago to Turista, Turista Plus and Preferente, with only Preferente offering included at-seat food & wine. In July 2021 classes were changed to Standard (2nd class) and Comfort (1st class) though passengers paying the Premium fare may get the former Club/Preferente seats. At present there is no at-seat service due to Covid-19. With a Premium ticket you get access to the Sala Club lounge in Barcelona & Madrid. For a seating plan of an AVE S103, see the seat numbering page.
There is no formal check-in for an AVE, you can board any time up to a minute or two before departure, but as there's a brief X-ray baggage scan & ticket check before boarding at Spanish high-speed stations, so don't arrive at the last minute, see the travel tips section below.
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An S103 AVE train from Madrid to Barcelona, about to leave Madrid Atocha. See virtual tour of an AVE S103. |
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Standard class (2nd class) on an AVE-S103... |
Comfort class (1st class) seating. |
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Comfort class (premium 1st class) seating on an AVE-S103 train. At-seat food & wine included. |
Cafe-bar on an AVE S103 between Barcelona & Madrid, serving tea, coffee, beer, wine, snacks, soft drinks & hot dishes. |
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An AVE-S103 from Madrid Atocha, arrived at Barcelona Sants. |
Option 2: Lo-cost Ouigo trains...
Ouigo is the lo-cost subsidiary of SNCF (French Railways), offering 5 or so trains per day from Barcelona to Madrid and vice versa. Fully air-conditioned, free WiFi, power sockets at all seats and (unlike Ouigo in France) a spacious cafe-bar on the upper deck in car 4.
Ouigo is a lo-cost train with budget airline-style baggage limits, so you'll need to pay an extra 5 for a suitcase or backpack when you book. Bags go on the racks inside the seating area in each car. Small pets in carriers can be carried, at extra charge. Bikes are not carried.
Ouigo uses French double-deck TGV Duplex trains. I recommend an upper deck seat for the best views, it's just 9 easy, wide & shallow steps with handrails from the entrance to the upper deck, which Ouigo calls Sky - they call the lower deck Earth. There are toilets & luggage racks both upstairs & downstairs in each car.
First class? Although Ouigo bill their trains as all one class, the seats are unchanged from the TGV Duplex trains used in France. Cars 1, 2 & 3 retain their larger, more comfortable 1st class seats with extra legroom, arranged 2+1 across the car width. Cars 5-8 remain 2nd class with seats to 2+2 across the car width. Ouigo call the former first class seating 'XL' and charge a 9 fee for it on top of the basic fare - a bargain. The XL fee includes an extra-baggage fee for one suitcase or backpack, it's easy to miss this perk when booking XL, so don't accidentally pay twice.
There's a formal 30-minute minimum check-in for Ouigo trains, a ticket check happens before boarding and as for all operators there's an X-ray baggage check before accessing the platforms, see the travel tips section below. Within a few months of the service starting, Ouigo was achieving 90% load factors.
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Ouigo train from Madrid to Barcelona, at Madrid Atocha. Photos courtesy of Matt from www.youtube.com/c/nonstopeurotrip. |
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XL seats in cars 1, 2 & 3, upper deck - other XL seats are on the lower deck. Note the luggage rack on the right. |
A Ouigo train from Madrid, arrived at Barcelona Sants. Click the interior photos for larger images. |
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Cafe-bar on an Ouigo train, upper deck car 4. |
Regular seats on an Ouigo train, upper deck. |
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A Ouigo train at Madrid Atocha. |
Option 3: Lo-cost Avlo trains...
Avlo is a subsidiary of Renfe (Spanish Railways), operating three or so lo-cost trains per day in each direction between Barcelona & Madrid. Fully air-conditioned, free WiFi, power sockets at all seats. But no cafe-bar, just credit-card-operated vending machines, and no first class.
Avlo uses a version of Renfe's S112 AVE train, repainted in Avlo colours with an all-new one-class (but high-quality) interior. It has leather seats and plenty of legroom. The S112 is nicknamed Pato (duck) by Renfe staff, no prizes for guessing why.
If possible, avoid seats in car 6 as this was the former cafe-bar. It's been converted into a seats car, but the small high-level windows have not been changed, so you can only see out if you stand up!
Unlike normal trains, Avlo is a lo-cost train with strict airline-style baggage limits, you need to pay an extra 10 for a suitcase or backpack. You take your bags onto the train and put them on the racks inside the seating area in each car. Only folding bikes are carried. No pets allowed. If your bags are found to exceed the set dimensions when you arrive at the station (even if they simply bulge a bit) you'll have to pay a 30 fee - if in any doubt about luggage, stick with the normal Renfe AVE service.
Boarding closes 5 minutes before departure, for all operators there's an X-ray baggage check before accessing the platforms so don't cut it fine, see the travel tips below.
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An Avlo train at Barcelona Sants, originally a Renfe S112 AVE converted to one-class for Avlo services. Courtesy of www.youtube.com/c/nonstopeurotrip. |
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Car 6, note the windows in this car! Courtesy Ekain Munduate. |
Comfortable seats on an Avlo train. Courtesy Ekain Munduate. |
Travel tips (all operators)
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Seat reservation is compulsory on all these high-speed trains, all tickets come with a specified reserved seat automatically included. For a seating plan of an AVE S103, see the seat numbering page.
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Security checks before boarding... At Spanish stations including Madrid Atocha & Barcelona Sants there is a quick and simple baggage X-ray check before entering the departures area and your ticket may be checked. It only takes minutes, much easier than any airport, but don't turn up with seconds to spare. How to board a high-speed train at Madrid Atocha. How to board a high-speed train at Barcelona Sants.
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Luggage limits: You take your luggage with you onto the train and put it on any suitable rack near your seat.
On Renfe's AVEs, luggage is easy, as on most other European trains. There's no extra cost for a suitcase or backpack, and (unless you take the mickey) nobody weighs it, measures it or argues about its exact size.
On lo-cost operators Avlo & Ouigo you need to pay a luggage fee for suitcases or backpacks, added when you buy a ticket. Check permitted dimensions carefully when you book. If you need to add an oversize or additional bag on the day of travel it will cost significantly more. If your bags are found to exceed the strict size limits on these lo-cost operators you'll be charged a hefty fee - one traveller on Avlo was charged 30 for a bag which was a few millimetres over the permitted size and his lo-cost journey became more expensive than the normal full-service AVE! Train travel really shouldn't be like that.
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Babies & infants need a ticket... Babies and infants under 4 years old travel for free if you're happy to have them on your lap, but unlike other European countries where you can just bring them along without a ticket, on Spanish high-speed trains they need a zero-cost ticket booked in their name. You'll get this if you enter them as a passenger with their actual age, when you buy tickets. If you want to them to have their own seat, enter their age as 5+ so the system gives you a child ticket.
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Food & drink... Renfe's AVEs have a cafe-bar and Premium Comfort class includes food & wine served at seat. Ouigo has a cafe-bar. Avlo has no catering other than credit-card-operated vending machines. You are of course free to bring your own food and drink along to eat & drink in your seat, even a beer or bottle of wine if you like, on all these trains.
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WiFi & power outlets... There are power outlets at all seats in all these trains, of the usual European 2-pin type. All these trains have free WiFi, the network name on AVE & Avlo is PlayRenfe, with some free content to stream too.
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Station guides... To get familiar with the stations, see the Barcelona Sants station guide and Madrid Atocha station guide.
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First class lounge (Sala Club)... If you have a Premium Comfort ticket for a Renfe AVE you can use the Sala Club lounge at Barcelona Sants and Sala Club lounge at Madrid Atocha before departure, with complimentary tea, coffee, beer, soft drinks & snacks.
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Onward connections... If you are making a same-day connection into or out of a Renfe-SNCF high-speed TGV or AVE train to or from France, or another Renfe train within Spain, I'd stick with the main Renfe AVE service between Barcelona & Madrid. Avlo & Ouigo are separate companies and if you combine them with onward trains run by Renfe or SNCF you will not be covered for missed connections if there's a delay. More about passenger rights.
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Interrail & Eurail: Passes are good for Renfe's AVE if you pay the reservation fee. Passes are not valid on Ouigo or Avlo.
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A slow train still takes the old route... For the record, one train per day still links Barcelona & Madrid via the classic line. Run by Renfe, it's an air-conditioned Regional Express taking 9 hours, leaving Barcelona Sants around 09:03 westbound and leaving Madrid Chamartin around 07:15 eastbound. It has one fixed price, around 43. You may see it in your search results, don't book it by mistake!
Route map...
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Click for larger map. Red = 310 km/h high-speed line. Black = classic lines. Green = scenic sections.
Reproduced with kind permission of the European Rail Timetable people. Buy a copy of the European Rail Map at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu.
What's the Barcelona to Madrid journey like?
The platforms at Barcelona Sants are underground, but the train soon emerges into daylight as it accelerates to 310 km/h (193 mph). High-speed lines in Spain are built to standard gauge (4' 8½") like the majority of Europe, even though Spain's classic railways are Iberian broad gauge (5' 6"). Soon after leaving Barcelona, look out for the distinctive jagged ridge of Montserrat on your right (on the left, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_(mountain). The rest of the high-speed journey to Madrid is pleasantly undulating and often scenic, as you can see in the second photograph below. All trains call at Zaragoza, the major city between Barcelona and Madrid.
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View from a Madrid to Barcelona Ouigo train. The jagged mountain in the distance is Montserrat, a major landmark, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_(mountain). Courtesy of www.youtube.com/c/nonstopeurotrip. |
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Scenery an AVE train from Barcelona to Madrid. Courtesy of DiscoverByRail.com. |
How to buy tickets...
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Thetrainline.com sells tickets for Renfe AVE, Ouigo & Avlo so you can easily check times & buy tickets for all 3 operators, all in one place. It's a quick & easy site to use, overseas credit cards accepted no problem, you can pay in , £ or $. There's a small booking fee.
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Raileurope.com sells tickets for Renfe & Ouigo, but not Avlo. Easy to use, overseas credit cards accepted, you can see fares & pay in , £ or $. There's a small booking fee.
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Omio.com only sells tickets for Renfe's AVE, not for Ouigo or Avlo. There's a small booking fee.
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You can of course book at the operator sites. For Renfe's AVE it's www.renfe.com, in , not the easiest site to use as it tends to slip back into Spanish even if you select Ingles, it's often poorly worded and it has a reputation for rejecting some overseas credit cards. For Ouigo, it's www.ouigo.com, this allows you to choose a seat from a seating plan for a small fee (free if you pay for XL) although you can't tell which seats face forward or backwards as the train could enter service either way round. For Avlo, it's either www.renfe.com or avlorenfe.com, also allowing seat choice from a seating plan for an 8 fee, this time with direction of travel shown.
Recommended hotels...
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See my recommended hotels in Barcelona, either near the station or near the old town & Las Ramblas.