I was going to call MM on the telephone about this but thought it might be useful info for others travelling on Spain's high speed rail service .
Last year I travelled AVE from Atocha to Sevilla and don't remember any check-in or security ... But I know that there are x-ray machines before going onto the platform .
I just booked my ticket from Atocha to Malaga for next week and printed the tickets on-line .
When i get to Atocha will I have to do anything else ( like "check-in" my bag ) or will I just have to put my bag through the x-ray .
The reason I ask is I'm just working out how long before departure I should arrive at Atocha .

Steve .

...steve r..while i must admit that i last went through the process about 18 months ago doing Madrid-Sevilla at about 8.00am and it went very smoothly. Firstly there were a number of passengers that didn't have any luggage, secondly business people had nothing more than a briefcase in most cases and thirdly, those that did have luggage went through pretty quickly. I think that when i went through i may have been third in line and had no hassles. I think the gate to the platform opened about 20 to 30 minutes before departure....best you check though.

...As an aside, i know that the the train departed exactly on time both going and returning. I was told, and i don't know if it is the case, that if you get to your destination more than 2 minutes late you can get your money back!!!!!All in all i was impressed with the AVE experience....it was clean,efficient and punctual.

I'm off to Madrid next week. Would you know of any online booking service for the Ave train. I can't see anything on the website for it...

dc

Derek ,
the railway company here in Spain is called RENFE ... you can book on-line on their website : http://www.renfe.es/horarios/english/index.html

The strange thing that I discovered was that the front page is in English but when you opt to buy a ticket on-line it then is only in Spanish . Do you speak Spanish ? Anyway I booked my ticket to Malaga and , much like an airline , you can print your ticket off straight away .

Bear in mind that since the Atocha bombing atrocity here in Madrid , Security has been escalated in railway stations and your baggage will almost certainly go through security screening before you reach the platform .

The AVE is spectacularly punctual .. As a previous post mentioned , on some routes you'll get your money back if it's 5 minutes late !! UK rail services PLEASE take note !

Steve

Thanks, just what I wanted..

derek

Last week I travelled to Cordoba on the AVE and while the security process wasn't bad,(just Xray and metal detector), the line to actually get down to the VIA, or rail line was immense. Take into consideration when and on which day you are travelling as many Spaniards are also on vacation or just about to be. Travelling on a Monday or Tuesday, for example, is better than a Friday.