Cut-price rail tickets: Up to 57% off AVE and Long Distance links

IN A BID to encourage the nation to travel and help boost the tourism industry – especially outside of high season – rail board RENFE is offering discount of up to 57% on tickets for its high-speed AVE line and its cheaper, long-distance connection.

A total of 380,000 seats will be up for grabs from tomorrow (Tuesday, September 8) until Monday, September 13, and any tickets bought can be used for travel up to and including December 12, 2020.

This latest batch of cut-price trips, through RENFE's Yo Voy ('I'm Going') campaign – titled YoVoyOtoño, or 'I'mGoingAutumn' – carries the same terms and conditions as the Promo+ tariff, a year-round scheme which allows flexibility in changing dates and times or cancelling journeys.

They are available for the express AVE line, which is the most expensive but connects major cities in record time – as an example, the Valencia-Madrid link covers 350 kilometres in just 90 minutes – and also the Larga Distancia, or 'Long Distance'.

This much cheaper 'snail rail' takes considerably longer and usually involves at least one change – the Valencia-Madrid connection takes around five hours, with a stop at Alcázar de San Juan in Ciudad Real province – but is extremely popular, especially among travellers who are not bothered about getting to their destination quickly but prefer to spend as little money on doing so as possible.

Heavily-reduced tickets for the YoVoyOtoño campaign are available via the usual channels – Renfe.com, the post office (Correos), station box offices, Renfe Ticket machines in stations, via phone, or through travel agencies, either in person or online.

RENFE stresses that its safety measures have become much more stringent as a consequence of the pandemic, with frequent and regular disinfecting and cleaning on all trains, and hand-sanitiser or antiseptic hand-wipes are to be used by all passengers upon boarding.

Hand-sanitiser dispensers have been installed in all the on-board toilets, and the trains are now ventilated much more frequently – the air-filter units ensure that all air inside the carriages is completely replaced every seven minutes.