Ticketing at Barcelona Sants Train Station
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Tickets at Barcelona Sants station (sometimes called 'Sants Estació' or 'Estació Sants') can be purchased online, via telephone, from ticket machines or from ticket booths. It will depend on the sort of journey that you are taking as to whether all ticket purchase options will be available to you.
This page explains each different ticket option available for trains from Barcelona Sants station Along with purchase options for each. You will find the ticket line contact details, the official web address for online purchases, location and opening times of ticket booths and how to use ticket machines.
Ticket options for tickets at Barcelona Sants Station
Cercanias Tickets
Cercanias tickets are for journeys in Barcelona and in the surrounding areas of Barcelona. They are the local trains.
Media Distancia Tickets
Media Distancia tickets are those that cover trains travelling throughout Catalunya.
Larga Distancia Tickets
Large Distancia tickets are those that cover the whole of Spain and Europe. These will include the AVE (high speed train).
With the Larga Distancia trains, whether you are booking via telephone, internet or at the station, it is important to book as far in advance as possible. Unlike trains in the UK, it is necessary to book a seat - once these seats are sold out, the train is full and you will no longer be able to get a ticket. RENFE advise that you book at least two weeks in advance. This is especially important during the summer months, Easter and Christmas.
Telephone ticket purchases
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| RENFE Ticket Printing Machine |
Tel (RENFE ticket line): +34 91 919 0504
Only Media Distancia and Larga Distancia tickets can be purchased via telephone. Following the telephone purchase you will need to print the tickets from special ticket vending machines that are dotted around the station. The ticket printing machines are dotted around the station, however, there is a large cluster of them on the far left hand side of the station, to the left of the ticket booths and in front of the McDonald's. You will need to bring the debit or credit card that you used to book the ticket. You will insert this into the machine to have your purchase verified, the machine will then print your ticket for you.
Internet ticket purchases
Internet purchase can also only be made for Media Distancia and Larga Distancia tickets. You can purchase online using a debit or credit card. Once you have made the purchase it will be necessary to print out your ticket and bring this with you when you are boarding the train.
The website is in Spanish, however, at the top right hand corner of the screen you will see a button marked 'Traducir'. Click on this button and the page will appear in English.
Ticket machine ticket purchases
Cercanias and Media Distancia Ticket Machines
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| Cercanias Ticket Machine |
It is only possible to buy tickets for the local Cercanias and Media Distancia trains from ticket machines. You will find the machines dotted around the station at regular intervals. The machines are larger than the ones for printing long distance tickets (see above) and are red and grey. You can pay at the machines using cash, credit or debit cards. You can also buy more than one ticket in one go.
During busy times there is often a member of staff standing at the clusters of ticket machines. They will help you to purchase your ticket and explain to you how to use the machine.
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On-the-day ticket booth ticket purchases for Barcelona Sants Station
Cercanias and Media Distancia ticket booth
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| Media Distancia Ticket Office |
These are located at numbers 1- 7 of the ticket booths in the station (towards the left of the building). You will see a sign in red LED lighting that says "Cercanias- Media Distancia Venta Salida Hoy".
It is not possible to buy Cercanias or Media Distancia advance tickets at the station. Therefore, you will have to wait until the day to make your purchase at the station. If there are long queues at the ticket booths, it is worth using the ticket machines (see above) to buy your tickets.
Opening Times of Cercanias and Media Distancia booths:
Monday - Sunday: 06:00 - 22:00
Larga Distancia ticket booth
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| Larga Distancia Ticket Office |
These are located at numbers 27 - 33 of the ticket booths (towards the right of the building). You will see a sign in red LED lighting that says "Larga Distancia Venta Salida Hoy".
As mentioned above,if you wait until the day of the journey to book a long distance train journey, you risk the train being sold out. If possible, it is best to book your ticket in advance or check availability online before heading to the station.
Opening Times of Larga Distancia booths:
Monday - Sunday: 06:00 - 22:00
Advance ticket booth ticket purchases
It is not possible to buy Cercanias and Media Distancia tickets in advance. You will need to buy these tickets on the date of travel. This should not pose a problem, as it is not necessary to book a seat on these trains so they do not sell out.
Larga Distancia ticket booth
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| Larga Distancia Advance Booking |
These booths sit at the centre of the station, numbers 8 - 21. You will see a sign in red LED lighting that says "Larga Distancia Venta Anticipada". Rather than joining a queue for these booths, it is necessary to take a ticket and wait for your number to appear on the large screens. This can be a long process and you should be prepared to wait for up to an hour, perhaps longer than an hour during busy times (Summer, Easter and Christmas).
Opening Times of Larga Distancia booths:
Monday - Friday: 10:00 - 20:00 (except public holiday)
For a better understanding of where each ticket machine and ticket booth is located in the station building, see the map at map of Barcelona Sants station.
If you are in Barcelona and simply wish to take a day trip to somewhere close by, you should have no trouble in arriving at the station and purchasing a ticket whilst you are there. If you are not sure where to purchase tickets or what train you should be catching, you can ask at the 'Brief Questions' desk (see our page on information desks at Barcelona Sants for more details).
If you are planning a trip around Spain or Europe, more long distance planning will be required. If possible, it is probably easiest and quickest to do your long distance ticket purchasing online before your trip. If you plan on buying tickets from the station, you will need to schedule yourself in with some time to do this. You will also need to go to the station with a few options for dates, in case you find the date you require is already sold out.
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