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Interrail app does not find the connection Barcelona - Madrid

  • 24 March 2022
  • 4 replies
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Dear community, I have another question regarding my Interrail tour. I am travelling from Barcelona to Madrid with a train at 8 p.m. I was able to make a seat reservation for this train via Deutsche Bahn. However, when I tried to find this train connection in the Interrail app, it didn’t show up. What could be the reason for this? And will I have any problems if I travel with this train without that it’s listed in my app? (I have the seat reservation as a printed ticket though). Thank you in advance for your help!

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Best answer by rvdborgt 24 March 2022, 13:38

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Ola from Barcelona here. das war dann nett das es sogar gelingt hat! Also here anyone simply says thats 20.00. DO arrive early, as there is also a airport-style luggage check and extensive Q-ing. The little secret, repeated on this forum a few 100 times now, is that the app simply does not show the complete timetables of many railways. Remember that old saying: you can only get out of computers what someone has put in before. It is always best-and most certainly here for RENFE in Espana-to use the timetable/planner of the railway itself. Plus that it is when you do so-a fine distinction between the types of trenes, this one is AVE=Alta Velocidad. Arr at Atocha quite late-around 23.00.

Also note the next hurdle: if you also want to continue trip a little by cercanias=local Nahverkehr, there are gates everywhere and you have to go to counter (bad luck if closed) to show pass and ask for remote opening of gate. Maybe in MAD there is also help-staff.

Userlevel 7
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Spanish railways (RENFE) don't share their complete timetables with the rest of the world, so the rail planner app (and many other planners) is very incomplete for Spain. You can check Spanish timetables via RENFE or Rail Europe (RE apparently managed to get RENFE data).

If the app doesn't know a train you want to use, you'll have to add it manually. In the planner, scroll down to the bottom of the results and tap "Add it manually”. You can enter any journey if the app doesn't know the stations, to get the "Add it manually” link on the screen.

Thank you for your replies.

 

DO arrive early, as there is also a airport-style luggage check and extensive Q-ing. T

 

My train from Lyon arrives in Barcelona at 7.32 p.m., so there should be enough time to change the train and to pass the luggage check?

 

 

Also note the next hurdle: if you also want to continue trip a little by cercanias=local Nahverkehr, there are gates everywhere and you have to go to counter (bad luck if closed) to show pass and ask for remote opening of gate. Maybe in MAD there is also help-staff.

 

I don’t really get that. Does this mean there are gates when I want to leave the train station and I can’t open them with my pass, but someone else has to open them for me?

 

 

If the app doesn't know a train you want to use, you'll have to add it manually. In the planner, scroll down to the bottom of the results and tap "Add it manually”. You can enter any journey if the app doesn't know the stations, to get the "Add it manually” link on the screen.

 

 

Thank you very much for this information, that was really helpful! I added the train manually, so I hope there shouldn’t be any problems.

Userlevel 7
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My train from Lyon arrives in Barcelona at 7.32 p.m., so there should be enough time to change the train and to pass the luggage check?

That's enough. Normally, 10 minutes or so will do in Spain. It may also be the case that you don't have to go through security again, since you're only changing between 2 high-speed trains.

I don’t really get that. Does this mean there are gates when I want to leave the train station and I can’t open them with my pass, but someone else has to open them for me?

That is indeed the case for most Cercanías (S-Bahn) platform/stations in the Spanish cities. Outside of the city centres, there are not always gates.

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