For visitors who have been planning on visiting Spain, here’s your lucky free ticket. The public rail system of Spain has announced free train travel from September 1 to December 31. This can be used for both local as well as tourism. The public train system, Renfe, is making travel free of charge to encourage travellers to opt for train travel and enjoy offbeat places.
This is to encourage travellers to visit places that exist beyond Barcelona, Madrid and Seville. With this new decision, off-beat places can be easily explored and have become accessible too. Travellers can get a free 100 per cent discount on tickets if they are travelling either by cercanias (commuter services) or media distancia (medium distance) routes. The medium distance routes should be less than 300 km, however.
With the help of this decision, travellers can explore places beyond Catalonia, witness the grandeur of Andalucia and roam around Basque country – checking out museums and restaurants.
However, the free train ride does not apply to all places. Visitors will still have to pay for famous routes like Madrid-Seville (390 km), Barcelona-Madrid (560 km) and Barcelona- San Sebastian (643 km).
The central Spanish government had earlier announced a discount of 30 per cent to 50 per cent on public transportation like the metro, buses and trams. This has been appreciated to promote tourism by local means, which allows visitors to experience the local culture of Spain.
The free train trip benefits not only Spanish season ticket holders, but also tourists. Tourists can buy multi-journey tickets and enjoy the benefits. The prices are reduced in order to lower the impact of inflation and the constant rise in energy prices.
Previously, Germany chose a similar strategy to boost local resources and tourism. The German government had earlier made public transport tickets for tourists unlimited at the price of $9 (Rs 719). The scheme is valid till the end of August this year.
