The Renfe/Rodalies train pass was introduced to encourage travel by train at the end of 2022, and the offer is still going until December 2023. You can find the full info here in Spanish but we will give a summary below.
The Rodalies trains are the ones that take you to cities surrounding Barcelona (but not ALL the trains. Keep an eye out for the R trains). Here is a link to the map of the trains and zones. As you can see, there are 6 zones total.
The pass will give you unlimited travel on these trains for the time period when you bought it. Those time periods are as follows:
- 1 Jan 2023 – 30 Apr 2023
- 1 May 2023 – 31 Aug 2023
- 1 Sep 2023 – 31 Dec 2023
Cost: The ticket is “free” however requires a deposit of €10. If you complete 16 or more trips (8 round trips), the deposit will be returned to you. If you don’t do 16 trips, then still €10 is not a bad price to pay for this service (It’s already worth it after 2 trips depending on where you are going).
A few important notes:
- You must have a DNI/NIE/TIE/Passport number to get the pass, and the ticket is not transferable so you can’t share with anyone
- You will get a paper ticket which looks similar to a metro ticket. It’s important you do not lose this paper ticket, as you will not be able to get a replacement!
- It is valid for most but not all of the R-trains. You can take the R1, R2 Nord, R2, R2 Sud, R3 (direction Sant Quirze de Besora), R4, R7 and R8.
- After you complete a trip and return to Barcelona, for the next 15 minutes you can use the same ticket to transfer via the metro in order to go home.
- Travel to Montserrat: Note that the ticket is NOT valid for the R5 which takes you directly to Aeri de Montserrat to visit the mountain, however you can take the R4 and change trains in Martorell Central (The price from here is about 6.80 EUR round trip) (The price to go directly on the R5 from Pl. Espana is about 11.50 round trip).
How to get the ticket from the ticket machines
Firstly, note that you should take it from the orange Rodalies ticket machines which are found in the Rodalies stations (Sants, Passeig de Gracia, Pl. Catalunya, Arc de Triomf, Estacio de Franca, El Clot-Arago, La Sagrera being the most central stations but check the map to see if there is one closer to your home)
Just to make things more complicated, Rodalies has 2 types of machines which function a bit differently, so pay attention to which type of machine you find:
The next steps are quite simple on both machines. (Scroll down for instructions with the old machine.)
New machines*:
*Easier to use than the old machines, we recommend finding one of these!
You will see on the main screen a big orange button on the button that mentions the abono gratuito. Click that button.
Then, simply enter your DNI/NIE/TIE/Passport #
Make sure on the next page that you select the destination that is in Zone 6. It doesn’t matter the destination, because you can use the ticket on all Rodalies lines. For example, we suggest choosing Manresa.
Then, make the payment of 10 EUR (We recommend using a card so that you can get your money back on that account).
The machine will print you a card. Don’t lose it 🙂
Old machines:
You will see a screen with many options. Choose “Abonament recurrent”
Next, it will ask for your phone number AND your ID number (DNI/NIE/TIE/Passport). Enter this information and continue.
Make sure on the next page that you select the destination that is in Zone 6. It doesn’t matter the destination, because you can use the ticket on all Rodalies lines. For example, we suggest choosing Manresa.
Then, you can finalize your payment of the 10 EUR deposit. We recommend using a card so that Renfe can return your money on this account.
The machine will print you a card. Don’t lose it 🙂
Now you can enjoy trips to many cool places surrounding Barcelona, and even join New in Barcelona group day trips to places like Sitges, Manresa, Vic, Castelldefels, Sant Pol de Mar, and more! (See here some pictures of the trips we have taken!)
Have anything to add to this information or find a mistake? Please let us know!