Look up a rail journey from Barcelona to Leon and nearly all the journey options will involve traveling via Madrid and making a transfer between Atoch and Chamartin stations in the Spanish capital; particularly now that the high speed line is now fully open between Madrid and Leon.
However, there is a daily direct train available, which avoids the needs to make a connection across Madrid; and it tends to be cheaper too.
This train to Leon, which is usually scheduled to depart from Barcelona Sants station at 09:30, travels on a high speed line as far as Zaragoza.
Final Destination: A Coruna OR Gijon
Departing from Barcelona:
Aim to be at Barcelona Sants a minimum of 20 mins before departure, in order to allow time to pass through the security checks.
At Barcelona Sants station these trains depart from the part of the station used by the high speed trains - vias (platforms/tracks) 1 - 6.
So when you're in the station follow the signs that are pointing the way to the ' Alta-Velocidad' trains.
1 x train per day
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: up to 2 months ahead
This train is usually scheduled to depart from Barcelona Sants station at 09:30, so target that departure time when looking up this journey.
This is a route where it pays off to book ahead, if you can book more than a month in advance it's possible to save more than €20.
This route is also a comparative bargain considering the length of the journey, if you book ahead you can usually find tickets for under €35.
Though as Renfe doesn't apply a 'tickets from' pricing policy, we're unable to provide prices below.
Rail Pass Users
The mandatory reservations for for rail passes are not available on the Eurail/Interrail reservation service for journeys within Spain.
The only option, other than booking them at a station in Spain, is to pre-reserve seats by calling Renfe phone sales: +34 91 232 03 20.
Pre-reserving a seat is possible up to 24 hours before a train's departure. You will receive a PNR code which you must use to pick up and pay for your reservation at a local station ticket office, making sure to show your Interrail Pass. You must collect your reservation within 72 hours. After this time the pre-reservation will expire.
Please note that a pre-reservation is not the same as a reservation. It only holds a seat for you for 72 hours.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
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