Hi,

Due to the works on the new high speed line between Madrid and Toledo there are fewer trains and part of the route is made by bus.

I'd recommend to take the bus to avoid any problems. There are buses every 30 minutes from Estación Sur de Autobuses. Make sure you take a direct buses (there is an alternative line stopping at every village on the way to Toledo).

High speed line? you mean that going to Toledo is going to be even less than the hour we had gotten used to?

Andrés

You're right Andrés. Toledo will be only 25 minutes from Madrid by means of the new high speed train. You can read more information at the Renfe website .

When will the work be completed? That will be a nice improvement.

nice?! one could almost live there and work in Madrid!

Andrés

Does anyone know the status of the constuction between Madrid and Toledo? Are the trains running now on a normal schedule?

Sel, they are not working on a normal schedule. You have to change at least one time and there are fewer trains than usual.

My advice is to take the bus Galiano ( part of the Continental Auto group) . There are plenty of them (every 30 minutes). Just remember to ask for a direct bus or you will end up stopping at every village between Madrid and Toledo.

This is just another example of how much help and how up to date the MadridMan site can be. On Friday a friend at work told me to take the bus to Toledo instead of the train. He had just returned from his honeymoon in Spain.

I just got on MadridMan and was going to pass on the info when I see that Antonio already responded this morning.

Thanks again for all the help in planning my trips to Spain. I leave on December 26 for four days in Madrid and ten days in Andalucia.

UGH!!! I am so comfortable with the trains!! I am returning in February so it looks like I will have to try the bus again.

I see that the buses leave from M. Alvaro to Toledo. Where is that?

The first time we were in Madrid, we had multiple disasters with the buses and because of this, I have avoided them ever since. They are more confusing than the trains. Sometimes you buy a ticket in advance and other times you pay the driver. Sometimes you have an assigned seat and other times you just get in line. Plus the workers were so impatient and unkind. We always managed to get where we needed but it was really difficult. It makes me nervous just to think about it!!!

Buses to Toledo depart from the Estación Sur de Autobuses which is kind of the "central" bus station in Madrid. The station is located at Méndez Álvaro subway station.

As for the ticket system, buying it in advance on a ticket office is the most common way.

Thanks Antonio....I guess I will have to get over my fear of the buses. Perhaps the main station will be better. It is not where we had our problems before.

[originally posted by El Dougo on 12-11-2003 08:56 AM]

The links to the maps and information in the long distance lines don't work in the English version, but if you go the the Spanish page,
http://www.renfe.es/empresa/glineas/index.html
they do. Lots of good info.

For the long distance lines, there are 23 "Radiales" and 23 "Transversales." If you like maps (what traveller doesn't?), you could view them all by pulling up one, e.g., http://www.renfe.es/empresa/glineas/t14.htm
(the "Picasso") and replacing t14 with t1, t2....t23 for tranversales, and lr1, lr2...lr23 for the radiales. Shows you easily what long distance trains there are. Tranversales cross the country, radiales radiate from Madrid mostly.

Can you buy bus tickets a day or so early and somewhere in the Sol area? Or must they be purchased at the bus station?

Also, are seats reserved?
Are buses air-conditioned and comfortable?
Is it a smooth ride from Madrid to Toledo.

Here's a link to the revised Madrid Toledo train schedule: http://www.renfe.es/empresa/regionales/pdf/madrid_toledo.pdf
It shows you transfer to a bus from Algodor to Toledo.
And here's a link to the Madrid-Toledo bus schedule: http://www.continental-auto.es/continental/index.php There's also contact information at this site, that might answer your specific questions. Site is in Spanish, but easy to navigate.