Jacobnoer
Traveller
3 comments
Posted 2 years ago
Hello!
So i found it very wierd, that it is so difficult to travel from Spain to Portugal interrail-style, for exampe Madrid-Lisboa. Rail Planner app has only one suggestion, which is 24h 12m. So I tried to Google, and rail.cc suggested the night train between Madrid and Lisboa, which according to the website rail.cc is set to go every single day by 21:43 and arrive in Lisboa at 7:20. This would be the perfect route for me, but I am really not sure if this route is even existing, since it is not on the Rail Planner app? Please help me figure this out :)
Thank you so much
Flo
Traveller
10723 comments
Hi!
The night train is suspended due to covid and most likely wont return.
I would be curious what route is suggested by the app since there is an option available in considerably less than 24h.
Flo
Jacobnoer
Traveller
3 comments
Hello.
Thank you so much for the answer. Where do you get such information? It is such a shame if covid has made interrail less effective.
Also, does it mean that I can always trust the Rail Planner app? Because i have often found routes on rail.cc, that I could not find on Rail Planner.
The suggested route on 24h 12m can be seen below
Flo
Traveller
10723 comments
I dont use the rail planner app - there are definitely not _all_ trains shown there. Any schedule planner can only show as many trains as are included in the database which it uses to calculate connections, as well as a number of other factors ("up-to-dateness" of timings, connecting times at stations etc).
Basically there is no thing such as "the" one rail schedule planner for all of Europe.
Rail planner app, ÖBB Scotty https://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/dn? are good options for basic planning but especially for more complex routes it makes sense to 1) use the schedule planners of the local railway and 2) split the journey into several smaller parts.
Regarding getting information etc this has been always like this, covid only caused the direct night train to disappear (thanks to Spanish world class railway RENFE...).
The route suggested apparently takes you via Vigo likes this:
Madrid 1440 - 1641 Leon
Leon 1737 - 2312 Vigo
Vigo 0858 - 1020 Porto
Porto 1038 - 1400 Lisboa (schedule planner kicks you out of the train at Oriente I assume)
The route I would suggest would be:
Madrid 0804 - 1326 Badajoz
Badajoz 1624 - 1814 Entroncamento
Entroncamento 1844 - 2020 Lisboa
There is a later train from Madrid as well, Madrid 1018 - 1605 Badajoz which normally connects to the train to Portugal but personally I would not want to risk missing this connection so would recommend the earlier train (although the connection normally shouldnt be a problem).
You can find these trains (separately) on renfe.com and cp.pt
Flo
Jacobnoer
Traveller
3 comments
Hi Flo
Thank you so much, really. I will try to look more into the local railways next time. Thank you so much :)
Arend7
Traveller
587 comments
The rail planner app is not online, but only updatet about once a month.