Latest news with #Cercanías
Local Spain
3 days ago
- Business
- Local Spain
Spain's Renfe releases new train prices as free travel tickets end
Spain's free train travel offer on commuter (Cercanías) and mid-distance (Media Distancia) services is finally coming to an end. After over three years of discounted and free travel on certain Renfe services, from July 2025 (almost all) travellers and commuters will now have to pay. The scheme was brought in during the period of high-inflation and around the time the Russia-Ukraine war began, mainly as a measure to help families deal with the cost of living crisis. New fares will now kick in from this summer onwards, which will be in force from 1 July 2025. The current season tickets for the use of Cercanías and Media Distancia trains, which were last renewed in May, will be valid until June 30th. Some regions, such as Madrid, have already announced discounted travel passes and other regions are reportedly considering the same. Although the new prices still technically represent a discount on public transport costs before 2021, for commuters who have enjoyed free travel for so long, this will feel like a significant increase. New train travel prices in Spain Looking at the new price structure Renfe has published online, train season tickets prices from July 1st, 2025 will be: 10 journey ticket: fare according to zone Monthly pass: €20 Youth monthly pass: €10 Child travel: free These new travel passes will be valid for the use of trains in the Cercanías network and will be valid for all areas in all Spanish cities. Renfe has stated that full "conditions of sale will be announced soon.' Avant trains will continue with the 50 percent discount on monthly passes.
Local Spain
29-04-2025
- Local Spain
Is everything back to normal in Spain after the nationwide blackout?
States of emergency were called in several regions of the country on Monday including in Andalusia, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha, Galicia and Valencia, following the failure of the electrical system, but many other areas were also left without power and chaos was seen throughout the country. According to REE power operator, electricity had been restored to more than 99 percent of mainland Spain by Tuesday morning. This means life is returning to some sense of normality for the majority of people across the country who now have power back in their homes and businesses, as well as working internet once again. However, the Spanish government has said that getting everything completely back to normal is going to be a process which could take a little bit longer. Transport was one of the sectors most affected by the blackout and thousands of people were stuck on trains, at stations or in metro carriages. Many people spent an uncomfortable night sleeping on the floor of places such as Atocha train station in Madrid or Sants station in Barcelona, unable to get back home or continue their journeys. Some were even stuck on trains for 10 or more hours waiting to be rescued or for the power to return so they could continue their journeys. As of Tuesday morning, there were still around 1,000 people waiting at Sants station in Barcelona to catch a high-speed train to Madrid. A number of train lines have also been affected, so if you're planning on travelling today you might still find some disruption. Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente has said that some train lines have been cancelled until further notice, this includes regional Cercanías trains in and around Bilbao, Cádiz, Seville, Zaragoza, Vigo and San Sebastián. Madrid's Cercanías commuter train system is operating at 50 percent this morning, and in Valencia some lines have been restored but with 'reduced services'. Spain's state rail operator Renfe confirms that they have resumed normal service between Madrid and Barcelona, Valencia, Murcia, Alicante, the Basque Country, and Algeciras. According to data from the Ministry of Transport, 48,638 people were unable to travel on Monday during the blackout, so many of them will be looking to travel today instead, put extra strain on the system. Airport operator AENA says that 'all airports remain operational', but they recommend that 'passengers check the status of public transportation services to airports and consult with their airline about the status of their flight'. As for drivers, the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has asked citizens this Tuesday to avoid using the roads unless strictly necessary. If you must travel, the DGT recommends 'drive with caution and take extreme care until normal traffic conditions are restored'. Schools remain back to normal and operational in some parts of the country, but in others classes have been cancelled. Schools in Madrid, Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Murcia, Valencia, and Aragón have reopened their doors this Tuesday, but have postponed all lessons. As well as having no electricity, no phone signal and no internet, some residents also had to deal with a cut in water supplies too. This was the case for some areas of Barcelona. Aigües de Barcelona reported this morning that they have restored water service to a large part of the metropolitan area, which has been affected since Monday due to the power outage. Other areas expected to have normal service in the coming hours.
