Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

TRAVEL NEWS

RENFE recommends getting free tickets before September 5th

The Spanish state train operator, RENFE, has recommended that travellers wishing to take advantage of their free travel offer should do so as soon as possible ahead of an anticipated increase in passenger numbers.

Published: 28 August 2022 15:22 CEST

RENFE recommends getting free tickets before September 5th

A train of the Spanish state-owned rail company Renfe at the Principe Pio train station in Madrid. Photo: GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP

Spain’s state train operator, RENFE, has recommended acquiring its free travel offer before Monday 5th September because of anticipated surge in demand.

The passes, valid for short and medium distance, multi-journey travel from September 1st to December 31, 2022, have been available for pre-purchase since August 24th, and are available on Renfe Cercanías mobile app, as well as at both the ticket offices and self-service machines of train stations.

READ MORE: GUIDE: How to get free train tickets in Spain

Announced by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in the Spanish Congress last month, the scheme will be for some trains operated by the state owned train network, RENFE, including Cercanías, Rodalies (Catalonia), and Media Distancia (local and medium-distance journeys).

Spain’s Ministry of Transport estimate that the scheme will benefit as many as 75 million journeys and attract between 15 and 20 percent more passengers than usual for the September-December period.

RENFE say that as many as 400,000 eager travellers have already signed up for the scheme. It is worth noting that in order to get the free tickets, you will need to pay a small deposit of €10 or €20.

Fortunately, it was also announced recently that there will be no limits on residency or nationality to qualify for the free tickets. Tourists from all over the world – EU member state and third-country nationals, so including Brits and Americans – will be able to benefit from free train travel.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Protesters threaten Mallorca airport 'blockade' ahead of another tourism demo in Spain

The Mallorcan activist group Menys Turisme, més vida, meaning ‘Less tourism, more life’ has threatened it would cause the “collapse” of the airport, during a recent meeting of protestors to gather ideas for concrete actions against overtourism on the island.

More than 300 people attended the meeting, where the most popular solution according to reports by local daily Ultima Hora was to create a blockade at Son Sant Joan Airport, just outside the capital of Palma, and the main entry point for visitors to the Balearics.

Members were warned of the dangers involved in such a demonstration and the legal consequences involved, so protestors have also proposed the creation of a resistance fund to pay for any possible fines.

Limiting the availability of rental cars, regulating access to housing, uniting unions and appropriating public spaces, were other actions that were proposed during the debate.

PP spokesperson in the Balearic Parliament Sebastiá Sagreras told local daily Diario de Mallorca that his right-wing party was against the blockade as “it would end up affecting people who aren’t at fault such as residents and tourists”, and that the Socialist party in the Balearics were responsible for not doing enough to stem the rise in illegal tourist apartments in recent years.

At the end of the assembly, the organisers also announced that a “massive” demonstration would be planned, although no further date was set.

This comes on the back several more anti-tourism demonstrations which are due to take place across the Balearic Islands over the next week.

On Saturday May 25th, the largest protest will take place at 7pm in Plaza de España in Palma, under the motto ‘Mallorca is not for sale’.

📣 La primera pasa contra la massificació turística la tenim aquest dissabte 25 📣
👇
📍 Parc de les estacions
⏰️ 19:00#MenysTurismeMésVida #MallorcaNoEsVen pic.twitter.com/pIwG0hM4Uy

— MENYS TURISME MÉS VIDA (@contracimera) May 20, 2024

Menorcans will also be demonstrating on the same day and time at Plaza de la Constitución in Alaior to protest housing prices, in a rally orchestrated by ‘Menorca per un Habitatge Digne’ (‘Menorca for a Decent Home’).

Another rally against overcrowding in Menorca is scheduled for June 8th in the Plaza de la Biosfera in Mahón.

READ ALSO: Spain’s Balearics struggle to fill job vacancies due to exorbitant rents

Ibiza, which has suffered the most from uncontrolled tourism, will also be holding its own event at the Insular Council headquarters on Friday, May 24th at 8pm, under the slogan ‘Eivissa can’t take it anymore’.

READ ALSO – ‘Ibiza can’t take it anymore’: Spanish island plans mass tourism protest

Islanders are protesting against overcrowding, the high prices derived from tourism and the environmental impact.

The idea came after several calls were made online to “imitate the protests that took place in the Canaries” in April, with many locals saying that the issues that Ibiza faces, as an island that welcomes the rich and famous, are even worse than those of the Atlantic Archipelago.

The Balearic Islands received record numbers of visitors in 2023, with 17.8 million in total, and added to the fact that its population has also grown by 33.5 percent since 2001, it puts a strain on the management of its energy resources and its water consumption and housing, which continues to become more and more expensive.

READ ALSO – REVEALED: The places in Spain where rents have more than doubled in a decade

Tourism accounts for 45 percent of the GDP (€16 billion annually) of the Balearics and employs 200,000 people a year, so while it may be necessary, the sheer number and oversaturation of tourists is not.

Locals argue that in addition to environmental problems, overtourism causes complications in daily life every year with traffic jams on the roads, fighting in the streets and noise that prevents them from leading a normal life.

It’s not just Spain’s islands that have been having issues with tourists, locals in Málaga on the Costa del Sol are also set to protest in June.

Url copied to clipboard!