Question about trains from Madrid-to Leon November

[Marbe2]

Usually, when getting from Madrid to Leon we pick up a high speed train in the late morning Early Fall or Spring) which goes from Chamartin to Leon in circa 2 hrs. Currently, there is no high speed Alvia train going out of Charmartin until around 8pm. Renfe shows no direct high speed trains originating out of Chamartin until night time?

My question is, will there be an Alvia two hour train added, scheduled, in a couple of weeks from now? Or not? Or am I looking at a regular off season train schedule now? Is the construction going on at Chamartin resulting in departures being rerouted away from Chamartin during the day? I already checked with Deutsche Bahn. They suggest additional trains going out in the afternoon taking circa 3.5 hours changing in Palencia, but unable to book? Trainline obviously follows Renfe release schedule. Any Insights appreciated….



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[TravellingMan22]

Usually, when getting from Madrid to Leon we pick up a high speed train in the late morning Early Fall or Spring) which goes from Chamartin to Leon in circa 2 hrs. Currently, there is no high speed Alvia train going out of Charmartin until around 8pm. Renfe shows no direct high speed trains originating out of Chamartin until night time?

My question is, will there be an Alvia two hour train added, scheduled, in a couple of weeks from now? Or not? Or am I looking at a regular off season train schedule now? Is the construction going on at Chamartin resulting in departures being rerouted away from Chamartin during the day? I already checked with Deutsche Bahn. They suggest additional trains going out in the afternoon taking circa 3.5 hours changing in Palencia, but unable to book? Trainline obviously follows Renfe release schedule. Any Insights appreciated….



I

Hi. I note the fast train ls there until 06 Nov and they are not there from 07 Nov onwards. If your are on Twitter or X as it is now knows and search on latest for ‘Renfe Madrid Leon’ you will see that this question has been raised and Renfe has responded by saying

Para el trayecto León-Madrid, debido a las obras que se están realizando en la infraestructura, hay un bloqueo preventivo en los trenes de ese recorrido. La oferta completa de trenes se encuentra disponible para la compra hasta el 06/11/2023. Esto no implica que no vayan a 1/3.

I think they mean they are unclear from 07 Nov but I am not sure.

I can pop into the Alicante Renfe office in morning and see if they have any views/ news?

 

[J Willhaus]

I can see a 2 hour AVE train on Nov. 8 at a 8:25 p.m. on trainline. Don't know when in November you are traveling? There is a bus schedule on Alsa. Takes about 4 hours or so.

I used Trainline.

 

[J Willhaus]

I also see it on Nov. 15.

 

[TravellingMan22]

I also see it on Nov. 15.

Yes I think we are talking the daytime trains.

The english translation is

For the León-Madrid route, due to the works being carried out on the infrastructure, there is a preventive blockade on the trains on that route. The complete train offer is available for purchase until 11/06/2023. This does not imply that they do not go to 1/3

So I think they are saying that the non publication of the train does not imply they do not run till 1 Mar.

 

[Marbe2]

Yes I think we are talking the daytime trains.

The english translation is

For the León-Madrid route, due to the works being carried out on the infrastructure, there is a preventive blockade on the trains on that route. The complete train offer is available for purchase until 11/06/2023. This does not imply that they do not go to 1/3

So I think they are saying that the non publication of the train does not imply they do not run till 1 Mar.

This is helpful, Thanks! As we both noted Renfe is running a night high speed train, likely after the workers stop for the day. I suspected that the construction might be close to Chamartin as the place was under significant construction when we were there in the Spring. Improvements and repairs need to happen at some point, so I can understand late November being a time when construction closures becomes more practical.

I will likely purchase a slow train ugh…with the ability, costing an additional €10 euros, to cancel or change ticket at no additional cost. This way, if an additional high speed train opens up, then I can easily make the change.

BTW two couples I know have recently contracted the new strain of Covid on bus trips! My thinking is that the trains will hopefully have better ventilation, and the seats will be further apart. In addition, I get bus sick after a few hours, especially after an all night flight.

 

[J Willhaus]

This is helpful, Thanks! As we both noted Renfe is running a night high speed train, likely after the workers stop for the day. I suspected that the construction might be close to Chamartin as the place was under significant construction when we were there in the Spring. Improvements and repairs need to happen at some point, so I can understand late November being a time when construction closures becomes more practical.

I will likely purchase a slow train ugh…with the ability, costing an additional €10 euros, to cancel or change ticket at no additional cost. This way, if an additional high speed train opens up, then I can easily make the change.

BTW two couples I know have recently contracted the new strain of Covid on bus trips! My thinking is that the trains will hopefully have better ventilation, and the seats will be further apart. In addition, I get bus sick after a few hours, especially after an all night flight.

We believe we got it on the train two years ago so consider a high quality mask and a booster before you go.

 

[ratherbefollowingflechas]

Sorry, but I am confused. Are you traveling in November or next March? I have found that I can not book the high speed trains more than 90 days out, although the response generally says "not available yet", or too early to book. I am looking for next June and only find trains through February (from Chamartin to Oviedo). Take some sanitizing wipes and give your seat a good wipe down. We both hang a bottle of hand sanitizer off our packs to clean our hands constantly...Good luck!
I found this on Trainline (part of booking.com) https://www.thetrainline.com/book/r...tedOutward=vCRnWI5sthE=:domNJMjcPo8=:Standard

 

[Marbe2]

Sorry, but I am confused. Are you traveling in November or next March? I have found that I can not book the high speed trains more than 90 days out, although the response generally says "not available yet", or too early to book. I am looking for next June and only find trains through February (from Chamartin to Oviedo). Take some sanitizing wipes and give your seat a good wipe down. We both hang a bottle of hand sanitizer off our packs to clean our hands constantly...Good luck!
I found this on Trainline (part of booking.com) https://www.thetrainline.com/book/results?origin=urn:trainline:generic:loc:6668&destination=urn:trainline:generic:loc:6660&outwardDate=2023-11-07T10:00:00&outwardDateType=departAfter&journeySearchType=single&passengers[]=1963-10-11|87d483c2-3c67-488a-a95e-0ee5e57567ba&passengers[]=1963-10-11|0e13f630-4577-4969-ac8c-5aad51ac3dac&directSearch=false&lang=en-us&selectedOutward=vCRnWI5sthE=:domNJMjcPo8=:Standard

Traveling in late November! Yes, there is an evening train to Leon that arrives in under 2hrs but we are searching for a fast train around 10am to 12pm. They aren’t scheduled, likely because of construction improvements on that route.
See above # 5.
Renfe is not as predictable about when it posts its train schedules as some other countries in the EU. Sometimes they do not not post some fast trains till less than 60 days before departure. (see seat61.com). Mark Smith, the author writes
“

• When does booking open?
  This is a major problem with Renfe. In theory, tickets should go on sale 60 days ahead for all trains other than AVE trains which should open 90 days ahead. In practice, Renfe is a law unto itself and loads what it likes when it likes, in blocks of dates, sometimes as little as 30 days before departure and often loading some trains and not others. If you go online and don't see the complete train service which you're expecting to see and it's over a month before departure, WAIT, as the chances are that all trains are not yet loaded. Renfe is particularly lax in opening bookings for dates after the timetable changes at midnight on the 2nd Saturday in June and 2nd Saturday in December.”

 

[Philtration]

For what it's worth, I'm on an AVE high-speed train in the reverse direction (Madrid - León) next week on Oct 19th in mid-afternoon. There were several options.

 

[Luka]

I heard RENFE blocked all booking options from the 7th of November on between Gijón/Oviedo and Madrid. Rumours are that this is because it will be the starting date of the new AVE connection between Asturias and Madrid.

If true, it is worth waiting because RENFE normally gives enormous discounts on the first tickets on new AVE lines. This is quite a spectacular new line, by the way. Straight through the Cantabrian mountainrange, worked on for about 20 years.

 

[Philtration]

I heard RENFE blocked all booking options from the 7th of November on between Gijón/Oviedo and Madrid. Rumours are that this is because it will be the starting date of the new AVE connection between Asturias and Madrid.

If true, it is worth waiting because RENFE normally gives enormous discounts on the first tickets on new AVE lines. This is quite a spectacular new line, by the way. Straight through the Cantabrian mountainrange, worked on for about 20 years.

I would appreciate hearing if this new route opens up and cheap tickets are available. I'll need to get back to Madrid for a Nov 9 return flight. A detour to the north coast and a chance to see this new route would be great. If anyone hears anything please post!

 

[TravellingMan22]

Traveling in late November! Yes, there is an evening train to Leon that arrives in under 2hrs but we are searching for a fast train around 10am to 12pm. They aren’t scheduled, likely because of construction improvements on that route.
See above # 5.
Renfe is not as predictable about when it posts its train schedules as some other countries in the EU. Sometimes they do not not post some fast trains till less than 60 days before departure. (see seat61.com). Mark Smith, the author writes
“

• When does booking open?
  This is a major problem with Renfe. In theory, tickets should go on sale 60 days ahead for all trains other than AVE trains which should open 90 days ahead. In practice, Renfe is a law unto itself and loads what it likes when it likes, in blocks of dates, sometimes as little as 30 days before departure and often loading some trains and not others. If you go online and don't see the complete train service which you're expecting to see and it's over a month before departure, WAIT, as the chances are that all trains are not yet loaded. Renfe is particularly lax in opening bookings for dates after the timetable changes at midnight on the 2nd Saturday in June and 2nd Saturday in December.”

Hello @Marbe2 seats for later November seem to be on sale now?!

 

[Marbe2]

Hello @Marbe2 seats for later November seem to be on sale now?!

Yes , They seemed to appear exactly one month before my date of departure! I bought them. Thanks.

 

[TravellingMan22]

Good to hear!

Using Renfe a fair bit at mo and getting quite a few schedule changes for infrastructure changes 17 Oct to 31 Jan.. all fairly minor for me so far but look out for them.