Renfe has issued more than 22,000 free Media Distancia subscriptions for journeys between 1 September and 31 December last year on the Extremadura line.

Nationwide, 1.7 million free multi-trip tickets were issued in 2023, of which 1,726,592 are tickets for travel in the different centres of Cerca, Rodalies and Cerca Ancho Metrica, and the remaining 602,252 tickets are for medium distance journeys.

In addition to free subscriptions for repeat customers, Renfe has sold nearly 150,000 titles with 50% Avant discounts for use in high-speed mid-distance services.

This last four months have exceeded the 2.3 million subscriptions of the first two of the year, which certifies the great acceptance of this measure among citizens.

The use of subscriptions during this 2023 is assuming an increase in passengers on public service trains close to 23%. As of November, more than 451 million customers have used Cerca, Rodalies, Media Distancia, Ancho Metric and Avant trains throughout Spain, with an addition of 84 million new trips, compared to the same period of 2022.

The movement of these more than 451 million passengers represents significant environmental savings. This figure avoids:

• The emission of more than 2 million tons of CO2.

• The circulation of more than 300 million private vehicles.

• Consumption of about 900 million liters of fuel.

New free subscriptions for 2024

From last Saturday and throughout its period of validity, Renfe users can obtain the free subscriptions of Proxies, Rodalies, Proximity and Medium Distance services to travel until April 30.

To speed up the purchase of subscriptions and avoid unnecessary waits, the purchase of subscriptions is possible through the Renfe Proximity app or, in the case of Media Distancia and Avant subscriptions, through the web www.renfe.com. To do this, the customer must be registered in advance.

For Avant’s rail services, the 50% discount is extended. The same discount will be applied to other high-speed routes that have been declared Public Service Obligation (PSO). Likewise, the free subscriptions of Media Distancia may be used in the Avant services in the Madrid-Salamanca point-to-point relationship and in the high-performance lines A Coruña–Ourense and Murcia-Alicante

As for the proximity services of the Palma del Rio-Villa del Río, Illescas-Fuenlabrada, Malaga-El Jet-Caminito del Rey, Murcia-Cartagena and Medina del Campo/Valladolid/Palencia lines, by 2024 the conditions of the subscriptions of the Neighbourhoods will be applicable, so the deposit will be 10 euros.

Promotion of the good use of fertilizers in Media Distancia and Avant

In 2024, Renfe will deepen the initiatives to prevent the irregular use of subscriptions in the Media Distancia and Avant services, where an irregular use is still detected that prevents all citizens from enjoying these measures.

Thus, in conventional Media Distancia routes, Renfe has extended to one hour (currently it is 10 minutes) the time in which a reservation must be formalized or, in case of not making the trip, canceled. In this way, users who are not going to use the reserved space with the subscriptions must cancel it with a minimum of 60 minutes in advance. In the event that, at least three times, they have not canceled the place with the aforementioned advance, they will lose the right to purchase new subscriptions during the following 30 days.

Previously, Renfe will send the traveler, on the occasion of the first two cancellations not made with the minimum required advance, communications to the contact provided by the same, which warns him of the possible consequences.

The company also prepares additional measures for the High Speed Medium Distance Trains, Avant, measures that will enter into force on March 1, 2024 and which will be reported in the coming weeks on the lines on which these services are provided.

Awareness campaign

In order to promote the good use of these bonus titles, Renfe will launch an awareness-raising campaign for citizens from the second week of January. In this way, it will be said that the misuse of subscriptions is a detriment to the rest of citizens who want to travel.

Additionally, Renfe will perform random checks on its Media Distancia and Avant services to check the correct use of the bonus titles. In the event of detection of non-compliance with the regulations, the anti-fraud measures established in these services will be applied.

Commuter App to get the free membership

The Proxies app allows the acquisition of the recurring subscriptions of Proxies and Rodalies in a fast, simple and agile way, generating a QR code that is downloaded on the mobile phone and that can subsequently be used in the access control of the stations.

To purchase the subscription, although it is free, it is necessary to deposit a deposit of 10 euros in the case of Neighbourhoods, Rodalies and Proximity Services, and 20 euros for each conventional Medium Distance service. The payment by card will allow the automatic return of the deposit, once at the end of the semester it is established that the condition of having made 16 trips during these four months has been fulfilled.

For children under 14 years old without a ID, a recurring subscription has also been created for Media Distancia services, which can be purchased in renfe.com or by the Renfe app. Father, mother or guardian or guardian may acquire, by means of their NIF, NIE or passport, a maximum of four children’s subscriptions for an origin and destination, during the period of validity.

Return of the deposit

Passengers who have used the free Short Stay, Rodalies or Media Distancia pass in the last quarter of 2023 will be refunded, provided that they have met the conditions of the same. Those who will pay the deposit by card, will be returned automatically.

To facilitate communication with customers, Renfe has set up a specific telephone line, 91 919 15 67, to report these free subscriptions.