Renfe Blues

[Parigi]

Dear Slowtravelers:

I need your lumière on how to use the RENFE site.

I have been trying to get tickets from Barcelona to Seville on December 22.
The RENFE site's reply to my request has been that it was too early to reserve for my date, but it did not tell me which date was the start of reservation for my date.

About a week ago I noticed that one could reserve tickets on December 15, which is one week before my date.
So I figured: in one week, I would be able to reserve my tickets for December 22, right?
Wrong.

Since a week ago, the start-of-reservation date has been stuck on December 15. Last Monday, the site said that the earliest date to reserve was still the 15. Ditto Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc.

My questions:
1. Has RENFE broken down?
2. For those of you experienced with RENFE, around which date do you think will be the start of reservation?
3. I can't see any 1st class 2nd class distinctiion for the ticket-purchase page. Do the tickets go by another name ? Like Prefernte class, Tourist class, normal class? Which do I want?
4. The French SNCF does an insidious thing to non-French consumers. When you click its English option, , without telling you so, it actually switches you out of the SNCF s!te and sends you to an agency that slaps you with a heavy commission, veyr often double the SNCF prices. Does Trainline do the same switcheroo to RENFE fares?
If not, maybe I'm better off just using Trainline. What do you think?

Mille mercis.

 

[Bruce Pollock]

I have had great success using Trainline for booking multiple train trips in Spain last spring. There are no commissions. It's dead simple to use. If you set up an account and it will track all your tickets in one place - there's also an available app for your phone. I would avoid using Renfe if possible.

The Man in Seat 61 is an excellent resource for understanding trains in Spain (and elsewhere). It will answer all your questions about fares, etc.

 

[Giulia da Urbino]

The Renfe helpdesk states that tickets are usually available to buy 62 days before the date of the trip, but for Christmas holidays and other very busy dates this period can be shorter. So, no, the site is not down, keep checking the site because you will probably soon be able to buy your ticket.
Classes are Turista, Turista Plus, Preferente depending on the kind of train (AVE or TALGO), sorry but I have no idea about Turista Plus and Preferente since I only travelled in Turista that is quite comfortable.
Sorry no idea about using RENFE in other languages since I use it in Spanish.

 

[veronicafrance]

I second Bruce. The RENFE site is uniquely awful. Trainline is far easier and you will pay the same prices. This applies for the SNCF too; I book all my tickets with Trainline now.

 

[Parigi]

Merci Veronica, Giulia, Bruce. I'm so lucky to have you as my travel support group.

 

[Penn251]

Always good to read other people's questions (and the great answers). Just booked train travel from Madrid to Seville for January through Trainline. Easy Peasy. Thanks all.

 

[Parigi]

Indeed thank you everyone.
I was able to buy tx a week after I posted here.
Still frustrating that 'Renfe would not announce the date when purchase starts, which means one has to check everyday. But I know what to expect now, thanks to your replies, and won't panic unduly in the future.