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Date Published: 14/09/2022

ARCHIVED - Technical hitch causes travel chaos on free trains throughout Spain

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Passengers reserving multiple seats and not cancelling means regular commuters can’t book train tickets in Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Technical hitch causes travel chaos on free trains throughout Spain

In a valiant effort to ease the pressure of rising fuel costs while at the same time promoting more sustainable transport, the Spanish government has made Renfe medium-distance train tickets completely free until the end of the year. These trips are ideal for regular commuters, who only have to pay a small deposit and book their tickets in advance.

However, it’s this very system that has caused huge problems and left many passengers stranded, unable to get a seat on their train. The issue is being created by people who reserve multiple seats on different trains so they can choose the time that best suits them and, because the service is now free, don’t bother to cancel the trips they don’t make. As a result, when other passengers go to the app to book a ticket, it looks like there are no spaces available when the trains are only running half full.

“For the train from Madrid to Salamanca on Friday of next week there are only five seats left,” explained Alejandro Rosende, spokesperson for the Salamanca Train Association. “What’s the problem? There's not much control over the free tickets. You can reserve a seat and not use it.

“Free is very nice, but you have to see it in the medium term. It would be better to have more frequent trains and fairer prices than four months free.”

And it’s not only the free trains either, since the Avant Cuenca-Madrid route, which is only subject to a 50% discount, is experiencing similar issues.

The rules state that free train journeys must be between two specific stations, with a minimum of 16 journeys in the four months of the season ticket’s validity. The deposit (10 euros for Cercanías trains and 20 euros for Media Distancia) is automatically refunded after December 31, when the promotion ends, as long as the user has made those 16 journeys.

However, given that there is no penalty for reserving a seat and not using it, some people are using this trick to recover their deposit money even when they know they’re not going to make 16 journeys. They buy the free travel pass, make their deposit, make their chosen journey once and then book another fifteen journeys online so that Renfe thinks that they have been made and returns the deposit.

Renfe sources say they are aware of the problem and are trying to find a solution: “The measure aims to reward recurring travellers and encourage the use of public transport. A misuse of free tickets generates damage to the rest of the citizens, limiting their mobility.”

Despite the problems that the measure is causing, more than one million free train passes have been issued since August 24.

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