How to take the rail journey from Madrid to Cordoba

Final Destination:
Seville or Malaga or Granada (AVE trains)
Cadiz or Huelva (Alvia trains)
Algeciras (Inter City trains)

The AVE and Alvia trains will be travelling at more than 280 km/h for virtually the entire journey between the Madrid suburbs and Cordoba station.
The differences in journey times between the faster and slightly slower trains is due to the number of station calls the trains make between Madrid and Cordoba.

However, the Inter City (IC) trains are non-stop, but around 20 mins slower because they can't match the top speed of the other trains

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - depending on the time of year.

The online booking window can be shorter between late July and early October.
When looking up journeys (not travelling) between late July and early October, it's likely you won't be able to book for journeys beyond the second Sunday in December.

The Renfe (Spanish national railways) online booking service sells tickets for the AVE/Alvia and avlo services, but Trainline and Trenes also sell tickets for journeys by the iryo services.

On this route, the AVE prices are set per departure according to demand; hence the lack of price info below.

If you want to take an AVE train, it can pay off to be as flexible as possible regarding departure and arrival times, because for these trains on this route it’s not unusual for a few departures to be available at much cheaper price, regardless of how far ahead you will be booking.
The limited numbers of tickets released for sale at very cheapest prices also inevitably sell out, so if possible book more than a couple of months ahead and you’ll be more likely to find them available.
Though from the moment the tickets are placed on sale, some departures will be cheaper than others..

Prémium tickets are only available for journeys by the AVE trains.

Difference in core ticketing terms between AVE/Alvia and avlo services.

Child tickets:
avlo = children aged 13 and under travel for a flat rate of €5, maximum of 2 children per fare paying Adult.
AVE = children aged 5 -13 and under are entitled to a 40% discount.
If you want to place a child aged four and under in its own seat, they will also have a 40% discount on the ticket price, but if you'll be happy to travel with the child on their lap, then there is no charge.

Amending booked tickets:
avlo = pay an additional €8 when making the initial booking and you can then make one change to an alternative choice of departure.
AVE = only possible when booking the more expensive 'Elige' or Prémium tickets

Seat Reservations:

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey by AVE and avlo services.

Rail Pass Users:

Rail pass users will need to pay reservation fees prior to boarding the AVE, though on this route, with its fairly frequent departures, you may as well book these reservations at the station when you arrive in Spain.

They are also 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.

Rail passes can't be used on the avlo services.

Final Destination: Seville or Malaga

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date .

The iryo online booking service and the ticketing services Trainline and Trenes sell tickets for journeys by the iryo trains - but Trenes and Trainline also sell tickets for the alternative AVE/Alvia and avlo services; though the periods of time ahead of the travel date, on which all four services can be compared, can vary.

The iryo prices are set per departure according to demand; hence the lack of price info below.

In common with the ticket pricing policy for most European high speed rail journeys, limited numbers of tickets will be available at each price, as each quota of tickets available at the cheaper price sell out, they are replaced with tickets at more expensive prices.

Similarly to how the tickets which Renfe makes available for its AVE services are sold, the terms of using the tickets to travel on iryo services, differ according to the class which you will be travelling by.

Incial Flexible

• want to cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 80% of the price you paid
• want to cancel your booking less than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 70% of the price you paid
• subsequently want to travel by an alternative departure on your chosen travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = pay the difference in price if the new departure you want to travel by is more expensive
• subsequently want to travel by another departure on a different travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = pay the difference in price if the new departure you want to travel by is more expensive + 15% of the price you originally paid
• miss the train you are booked on to and want to travel on a different iryo departure = you will have to re-book an entirely new ticket.

Singular Cafe Flexible and Singular Flexible tickets

• want to cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 85% of the price you paid
• want to cancel your booking less than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 75% of the price you paid
• subsequently want to travel by an alternative departure on your chosen travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = no charge
• subsequently want to travel by another departure on a different travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = pay the difference in price if the new departure you want to travel by is more expensive (avoid this when travelling Singular Cafe by booking Abierta tickets)
• miss the train you are booked on to and want to travel on a different iryo departure within 2 hours* = €30 for a replacement ticket
  *= the gaps between iryo departures can be longer than 2 hours

Infinita Flexible

• complimentary meal from the Bistro Menu = included
• want to cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 95% of the price you paid
• want to cancel your booking less than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 90% of the price you paid
• subsequently want to travel by an alternative departure on your chosen travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = no charge
• subsequently want to travel by another departure on a different travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = pay the difference in price if the new departure you want to travel by is more expensive (avoid this by booking Abierta tickets)
• miss the train you are booked on to and want to travel on a different iryo departure within 2 hours* = €10 for a replacement ticket
  *= the gaps between iryo departures can be longer than 2 hours

Infinita Abierta

• complimentary meal from the Bistro Menu =option to pay extra for this
• want to cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 100% of the price you paid
• want to cancel your booking less than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 95% of the price you paid
• subsequently want to travel by an alternative departure on your chosen travel date = no charge
• subsequently want to travel by another departure on a different travel date = no charge
• miss the train you are booked on to and want to travel on a different iryo departure within 2 hours* = no charge
  *= the gaps between iryo departures can be longer than 2 hours

Singular Cafe Abierta

• want to cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 90% of the price you paid
• want to cancel your booking less than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 95% of the price you paid
• subsequently want to travel by an alternative departure on your chosen travel date = no charge
• subsequently want to travel by a another departure on a different travel date = no charge
• miss the train you are booked on to and want to travel on a different iryo departure within 2 hours* = no charge
  *= the gaps between iryo departures can be longer than 2 hours

Note that a core difference between Flexible and Abierta tickets is that the Abierta tickets can be exchanged to travel on a different date, without the difference in cost between the original booking and the price to travel by the alternative train, having to be paid.
So with Abierta tickets you have the peace of mind of knowing that you can travel on a different date to that which you originally selected, without having to pay more money, despite the likelihood that the price, of what is in effect your replacement ticket, having risen since the time of your original booking.

Making a booking

When looking up a journey on the iryo website only the prices per departure of Incial Flexible, Singular Flexible and Infinita Flexible tickets will be shown.
When more than one person will be travelling together, the price shown will be the price per ticket and not the total price for the entire party.
If you want to travel in Infinita Class with the additional benefits of an Abierta ticket, you can add it to the booking of Infinita Flexible tickets as an upgrade.
Though two options for the Infinita Abierta tickets will be available, because you can opt to pay less and then not have access to the complimentary Bistro menu,

If you want to travel in the Singular Cafe class, what isn't particularly obvious is that you can only do so by opting to upgrade Incial Flexible or Singular Flexible tickets.
To book a Singular Cafe Abierta ticket you can upgrade a Singular Flexible ticket.
To book a Singular Cafe Flexible ticket you can upgrade an Incial Flexible ticket.

Child tickets

An unconventional aspect of iryo's ticketing is that it doesn't offer dedicated rates for child tickets, when travelling with children.
Those aged 0-3 don't require a ticket if they travel on an adult's lap, but they will need a ticket if they are placed in a seat.
Children aged 4-13 travel at the 'standard' rate = the same price as Adult ticket.

The national rail operator, Renfe, has launched these avlo services to provide a lower cost, but more basic alternative to its AVE trains.
This is the info page for these avlo services on the renfe website.

The Avlo services are scheduled to depart from Madrid Atocha daily at 17:37 and 21:10.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - depending on the time of year.

The online booking window can be shorter between late July and early October.
When looking up journeys (not travelling) between late July and early October, it's likely you won't be able to book for journeys beyond the second Sunday in December.

Both the Renfe (Spanish national railways) online booking service and the ticketing services Trainline and Trenes sell tickets for journeys by the avlo and AVE trains.
Trainline and Trenes also sells tickets for the alternative iryo services.

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey by avlo services.

Difference in core ticketing terms between AVE and avlo services.

Refunds

• AVE trains: Basico tickets = no refund if you cancel your trip
• AVE trains: Elige tickets = if you cancel your trip you will receive 70% of the price paid
• AVE trains: Premier tickets = if you cancel your trip you will receive 95% of the price paid
• avlo trains = no refund if you cancel your trip

Exchanges

• AVE trains: Basico tickets = no transfer available to a different departure, unless you pay from €12 to €30 for additional flexibility
• AVE trains: Elige tickets = pay 20% of the cost of the replacement ticket for the alternative train; but, adding the flexibility to amend your ticket to an entirely different departure at no extra charge costs €20
• AVE trains: Premier tickets = no charge for transfer to a different departure
• avlo trains = no transfer available to a different departure, unless you pay an additional €8 when making the initial booking

Child tickets:

• avlo = children aged 13 and under travel for a flat rate of €5, maximum of 2 children per fare paying Adult.
• AVE = children aged 5 -13 and under are entitled to a 40% discount. If you want to place a child aged four and under in its own seat, they will also have a 40% discount on the ticket price, but if you'll be happy to travel with the child on their lap, then there is no charge.