RENFE Spanish Railways - Trains from Barcelona
There are three main train companies that offer services within Catalunya (Catalonia). In Spanish Catalunya the first is the Spanish national railway company RENFE which provides the bulk of the services both through and within Catalunya and the second is FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya), a Catalan government (or Generalitat to be precise) owned company. FGC operates a few regional services within Catalunya and the metropolitan lines in and around Barcelona including the underground. In French Catalunya there’s the French national railway SNCF.
Investment in the railways in both countries is ongoing (the high speed TGV/Talgo is currently being extended from Perpignan to Barcelona and Valencia) and all three companies offer excellent, modern and generally punctual services at very competitive prices.
Services are basically split into three different types, in ‘Spanish’ Catalunya, the regional train, the express train and the high speed Talgo. If you’re travelling long distance or between cities don’t take the regional train as they stop at every station so you may be on it all day. Fast and reasonably priced are the express trains and then, if you’re in a hurry or want to experience a train travelling at upto 350kmh (210mph) take the Talgo. They are more expensive (usually at least double the price), but they’re the best and speed and service don’t come cheap.
In France SNCF runs the more famous though no faster TGV alongside similar regional and express trains branded as TER and split by region.
Below there are some examples of routes and fares between major destinations followed by links to all the operating companies where more detailed information can be obtained and reservations made.
| route |
type of service available |
journey time (fastest service) |
approximate fare (tourist class) |
| Barcelona - Girona |
regional, express, talgo |
1hr 4mins | €6.45 (express) |
| Barcelona - Lleida |
regional, express, talgo |
1hr 52 | €10.60 (express) |
| Barcelona - Tarragona |
regional, express, talgo |
53mins | €5.60 (express) |
| Barcelona - Perpignan |
talgo, TGV |
2hrs 51mins | €32.00 (talgo, TGV) |
| Perpignan - L'Hospitalet et Pres L’Andorre * | regional & express |
6hrs 5mins - via Toulouse |
€40.60 |
* L'Hospitalet et Pres L’Andorre is the nearest station in France to Andorra
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