Trains from Málaga to Barcelona

The AVE train from Malaga to Barcelona is one of the longest high-speed routes in Europe – it covers 1,100 km! With AVE you can get from one city to another in about 5h 30m. You may now say that travelling by plane is so much quicker, but just think about the time you need to get from the airport to the city centre, how much you need to wait at the terminals and the usual delays – the travel time is quite similar. Travelling from Malaga to Barcelona by train is certainly the most comfortable and hassle-free way to move from one part of the country to the other.

Málaga-María Zambrano, an incredible train station

I arrived at Málaga-María Zambrano train station at 08:20 and was struck by its huge size. Located a few minutes away from the old town of Malaga, it’s integrated into a shopping centre and has plenty of shops, supermarkets and restaurants where you can buy or eat something before the trains leave. The trains that serve the station include AVE, AV-City, Avant and Media Distancia (middle distance) trains bound for the main cities of Andalucía – Seville, Cordoba or Granada – and the rest of Spain (Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia).

I took the AVE train 3993 at 08:40 bound for Barcelona. Since the trip lasts approximately 5h 30 min and the difference in price between the Second- and First Class tickets wasn’t that big, I decided to buy a ticket for the Preferente class, with a window seat in the direction of travel.

The carriages of the Preferente class are very spacious, have 21 leather seats (two in a row and one in the other), luggage storage, shelves for hand luggage and toilets. My seat was reclining and had everything I needed for a long journey, from footrests to armrests, a big reclining table, power sockets to charge my electronic devices, reading lights, window blinds and a coat hanger.

An AVE train without WiFi?

This is the only AVE train that doesn’t offer onboard WiFi connection. We got on the train at the scheduled time and after stopping at Puente Genil-Herrera, Antequera-Santa Ana and Cordoba train stations, breakfast was served – it was included in my ticket fare.

There are ten special menus to choose from – you need to express your preference at least 24 hours before your date of travel. The menu included a piece of bread and a croissant, a hot dish (I got a tortilla with vegetables), yoghurt and a hot or cold drink – you can choose from hot chocolate, coffee or tea (hot drinks) – or from water, juice, wine, beer or soda (cold).

I worked on the train. Thanks to the large reclining table and the large space between the seats of the Preferente class, working with a laptop is very comfortable.

During my trip, two films were shown on the two TVs that were in each carriage. Renfe staff offer free headphones if you want to watch the film with sounds or listen to the different onboard radio stations, which can be selected with one of the buttons under the armrests.

After stopping at Zaragoza-Delicias, Lleida-Pirineus and Camp de Tarragona, we reached Barcelona Sants at 14:20.

 

Origin: Málaga-María Zambrano

Destination: Barcelona-Sants

Train stops: Antequera-Santa Ana, Puente Genil-Herrera, Córdoba Central, Zaragoza Delicias, Lleida-Pirineus y Camp de Tarragona

Departure time: 08:40

Arrival time: 14:20

Service: Renfe AVE

Train: AVE 3993

Maximum speed: 301 km/h

Class: Preferente

Carriage: 22

Seat: 4C (Window)

 

Jaime, a former Trainline employee, chose to share their experience of the journey between Malaga and Barcelona.