TRAINS IN SPAIN

Six days. Five overnight stays in five cities in Spain. Lunch in Paris. Stopover in Barcelona. Then Córdoba, Seville, Granada and Málaga. An Andalusia Whirlwind Tour where we visit the Mezquita and the Alhambra. We’re touring Andalusia in October 2023 to follow the trend of travelling to hot spots outside summer, as we did with Italy in 2022.

To travel from Sevilla-Santa-Justa to Granada and then from Granada to Málaga María Zambrano we made use of Renfe’s Avant trains. An interesting mix of local train and high speeds service.

There are many types of trains in Spain. Some of them:

The Alta Velicodad Española (AVE) or Spanish High Speed is Renfe‘s GST or TGV service.
The AVE Elipsos are international high speed trains operating between France and Spain via the Perpignan – Figueres high speed line. Services are operated with modern AVE sets with comfortable 2nd and 1st class seats in open-plan configuration with air-condition, plugs and a bistro car.
Altaria is the designation for Renfe long distance trains operating on both the conventional Iberian broad gauge (1668mm) as well as the high speed standard gauge (1435mm) lines, using rolling stock with the ability of changing between gauges while driving. Altaria trains usually run part of the route on non-electrified lines and are operated with comfortable Talgo rolling stock.
Alvia is the designation for Renfe high-speed trains in Spain operating on both the Iberian gauge as well as the standard gauge (1435mm) lines, using rolling stock with the ability of changing between gauges while driving.
AV City or AVC.
Avant is the designation for Renfe trains operating on the high speed lines with standard gauge lines, providing services on short to medium distances.
Media Distancia or middle-long distance.
Cercanías (Rodalies in Barcelona) are suburban trains in and around the larger Spanish cities. To pass the station barriers show your ticket and ask for a free ticket at the ticket offices or the staff at bigger stations.

There are still other types. Go to Rail.cc for more details.

Forewards!

Renfe’s Avant trains are series 104 of the Fiat type Pendolino. The 104is a four-part electric tilting train intended for passenger transport over long distances.

They were ordered by Renfe in early 1996 from the consortium of Fiat, Siemens and ADtranz. Now they’re made by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF). These trains are derived from the Italian tilting train ETR 460. The first trains were delivered in mid-2003.

The train set is constructed from an aluminum frame with air-suspended bogies and is equipped with tilting box technology. This installation allows the carriage to tilt approximately 8°, which is beneficial for comfort when cornering.

Inside

The Avant trains do not have 1st class anymore, but one coach is still in a 2+1 configuration. The other three have a 2+2.

They’re used to be a bar bistro, but now there’s only a vending machine, which was barely stocked.

The seats look taken from a bus. Nothing very comfortable, no table, no power outlet or USB. It’s very, very basic. So bring food and drinks and a power bank or two.

The journey

Nothing happened or is provided so you can be ‘left on your own’ for some four hours if you do the trek from Granada to Málaga in one go. Be aware of this.

So?

This as standard and basic as it gets. No worries, Spain is not Eastern Europe. The Avant sets are modern and have air conditioning. But it’s a far cry from the AVE trains.

Trip By Trip

TRAINS IN SPAIN | Renfe Avant regional ‘local’ train on high speed lines