I've only used the trains in inland Andalucia and have never had any problems. On the contrary, when we gave up on a rain soaked day in Cordoba and decide to return to Seville on an earlier train we were impressed not just with the fact that they allowed us to change our very cheap tickets in the travel centre for a different train at Cordoba but that by the time ŵe got on the train 20 mins later our names were on the seat reservation display. And it pulled up at not just the right platform but the door to our carriage was exactly at the point on the platform where the sign said it would be! Virgin uses the same type of trains and can't even manage the get the reservations right when booked well in advance let alone getting on a train that left its original departure point hours ago!

BUT and it is a big but, between the three of us we had enough Spanish to conduct the conversation in Spanish rather than expecting the ticket clerk to be able to speak English. When travelling to Berlin by train last year I was impressed with how nearly every member of staff we met on not just the Eurostar but the DeutscheBahn trains spoke very good English and how all announcements on the trains and in the stations were made in German, English and French. Getting on the train home to Scotland at Kings Cross was a reality check and did set me wondering how any non-English speaking tourists would manage with our railway system. Tourism is just as much a major industry in London and Edinburgh but I know that non-English speaking visitors cannot expect railway staff or on-board announcements here to be multilingual either. I think that wherever you are, it always helps to have enough of the language to be able to get by when it comes to travelling by public transport.

SM

to HT Malc
I can't contribute about Spanish trains but it did remind me of when we were in Berlin trying to get back to our hotel after OH had run the marathon there. We couldn't find which train we needed and no-one there could speak English. I did feel a bit lost as I can't speak German.
We have used countless public transport throughout the world and I do realise how lucky we have been that we have had no problems up till then( apart from being dumped in a jungle after a canoe ride and no guide and no Vietnamese words between us, but that's another story )
But how many of our railway stations have staff who speak different languages? Perhaps there are more than I think?

Thank you for your replies and I think it's a very good point about the lack of multilingual staff at British railway stations. I think I may have just been very lucky in the past as I have been able to get by quite successfully with a little French and even less Spanish travelling on trains throughout Europe, including in Finland where I was dreading trying to travel around the country with zero Finnish(!) but I found that everyone either spoke perfect English or French or, when we had no common language, we still managed to communicate by writing things down or through assorted land gestures! More than once we ended up in fits of laughter but managed somehow!

being a bit of a regular on the trains in the area i must say that i have never found any particular problem with the staff at any of the local stations. the ticket staff may not be fully conversant in english but they have picked up enough to be able to issue return tickets and advise on platforms, although some staff do have much better english than others.
there are also machines at the station that are simple to use to buy tickets just like in the uk.
my spanish is enough to get me by, but nowhere near good enough to have long conversations with officialdom so i tend to just adopt the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid) and only ask questions that will get me a simple answer. i use the locals, spanish and ex-pats to answer the more difficult questions like how best to get from A-B and where to change trains and the cheapest options etc.so when i get a train or bus i have an very good idea of what ticket to buy and where to get off etc before i travel
there is also a very good tourist office in malgrat where they can answer all sorts of questions
because they have a single track system the trains pass each other at the stations and occassionally have to wait at a station for a train running late.
it can be annoying when they change the platform at the last minute, the announcement usually comes after the train has arrived and does mean a hasty rush through the subway to get to the other platform, but after the first time you learn to watch for the train arriving and are ready to change platform when you see the train is going to the other platform, and to be fair when i have been there and this has happened the train does wait a reasonable time for people to change platform.

I've been to Calella twice, on girly holidays, and each time used the trains to go to Barcelona and once to Santa Susanna. We never had any problems and were chuffed with ourselves that we'd managed it

Welcome to HT MalcW always nice to get new members contributing

I have not used the Spanish trains a great deal however from what you have said we have been rather lucky on the occasions we used them.

The most recent occasion was last October on the Costa del Sol, although only an up & down coastal route so no problem with platform changes. I did find the trains ran exactly on time and on were modern and spotless, we used the automatic machines which were very easy and quick.

We used the train a few times from Salou to Barcelona, again they were on time and very efficient, however on these occasions we had to deal with the booking office staff who were exceptionally helpful, even with their limited English and my limited Spanish they managed to tell us about special offers and gave us the cheapest way to get the family return tickets, they actually saved us quit a bit of money.

Such a shame that you encountered these problems Malc as it does put a bit of a downer on you holiday.

The worst country that we have encountered was Tunisia, they couldn't be bothered, grunted, pointed or just totally ignored us, in the end we just gave up and went back to the hotel.

To make matters worse, a friend took the train from Blanes to Barcelona using a valid T-10 ticket which for some reason would not open the exit gate in Barcelona. When this was queried with a member of staff, they received abuse and were told that the ticket could not have been valid and that they would have to pay again which they were left with no choice but to do.

I'm not familiar with this route, but I wonder if the T-10 ticket was refused because it wasn't valid to enter another price zone.?
The price of the T-10 ticket(s) depends on where you want to travel to and from. for example, if I just wanted to travel between Torremolinos and Fuengirola, the price of the T-10 would be less than a ticket which allowed me to travel the length of the line, from Malaga City to Fuengirola.

I love travelling on Spanish trains, I've never known them be late and therefore it's true, they do not hang around at the stations en route.

Sanji

I went all the way from Manchester to Salou by train without speaking a word of Spanish or French. All went well until the French went on strike, luckily there were Germans on hand that could speak French and English that translated it all to me.

Ended up getting to Barcelona three hours later than planed but I got there.

As for Renfe, I used them a lot last year and the only issue I really had is they were always late. I am used to British trains were they are usually on time or just a couple minutes late, in Spain they seem to always be at least 5-10 minutes late.

I speak very little Spanish so I try to know all the answers before I set off. No doubt I will be using them again next week in Calella.

NoAir wrote:

I went all the way from Manchester to Salou by train without speaking a word of Spanish or French. All went well until the French went on strike, luckily there were Germans on hand that could speak French and English that translated it all to me.

Ended up getting to Barcelona three hours later than planed but I got there.

As for Renfe, I used them a lot last year and the only issue I really had is they were always late. I am used to British trains were they are usually on time or just a couple minutes late, in Spain they seem to always be at least 5-10 minutes late.

I speak very little Spanish so I try to know all the answers before I set off. No doubt I will be using them again next week in Calella.

I guess it can be frustrating when staff are not interested in helping and its sad that you say you experienced this and the fact it was the language issue also shouldn't have made them act the way they did and as you say you did try to prepare beforehand
In a general sense and not talking about your particluar experience or that area of Spain you were in but i would say that 70% of trains I have ever been on in London or glasgow are late....so for me I would say its comparable
As far as the "they should speak better english as its tourism argument " That we hear a lot it reminds me of conversations i i have had with Spanish italian /European friends of mine who simply turn to me and ask how many shops ,train stations ,newsagents ,hotels or bars in London Cardiff glasgow newcastle or Manchester could welcome their Spanish guests in fluent Spanish or italian guest in Fluent italian?
And add that why is their custom and their cash should be seen as less

The answer to the above would be probably not many Brits speak the lingo and I would also hazard a guess that scotlands tourism is on par with Spain etc and its numbers But yet we expect them ( the Spanish or italian tourist ) to speak in fluent scots( never mind english) to us
Yet we expect them (Spansish Italians etc ) to respond as if normal when huge amounts of Brits turn up and walk in to supermarkets train stations and bars and without a thought then turn to the girl serving and ask in cockey slang or glasgow twang where the milk is and expect her too respond as if she should understand perfectly?

When working in Spain i made a point of learning the basics and I'm now fluent after around 20 visits over 5 years as I am in italian too
In fact on one trip with my then English girlfriend we walked into the hotel we booked in Central Barcelona and began to check in also arranging dinner (all in Spanish )the receptionist then said "where in Spain have you come from" i Hand him my passport and to his amazement he then says " your british???????
(In fairness i don't have a british look and use to pretend it was my good looks and charm but it sadly just due to jet black hair and large roman nose,)
Quick as.Flash I then said "well scottish but sadly that passport will have to wait until independence ( wee cheeky joke there)
And would you believe it he then says I'm Upgrading you to the rooftop penthouse with our own jacussi ?????
You couldn't make it up although my new (now sadly departed girlfriend ) was very impressed
it also makes me feel proud that I can communicate in other languages and to the. I'm not just another scottish tourist with no interest except to get leathered .
Mind you nothing wrong with that.ha

So for me most Spanish tourists or students who come to scotland always speak basic or good english and they enjoy it too embracing the fact they are here .yet as we all know the percentage of Brits abroad who speak the local lingo is very very low compared to those Spanish etc in the uk.
That said i understand that for the majority of two weekers on packages abroad or those who are elderly its not a must and fair enough but I would say to anyone traveling alone or backpacking etc that it always best to at least try and learn the basics even just a little
It may just save the day.

Bit here but regarding foreigners knowing more English than we do their language, I remember many moons ago being in Greece for a few months & asking a local lad how he had a decent amount of English language. He said that he'd learnt a lot from listening to our music & also many English films etc were shown on their TV's.

or those who are elderly its not a must and fair enough.

Not sure at what age you become elderly but in my experience of language classes aimed at tourists wanting to gain a basic 'get by' proficiency in another language, retired people from the baby boomers generation form a significant percentage of the students. I guess that is only to be expected - they are the people with both the space in their lives to learn something new, often have more disposable income to fund travel now that their children are financially independent and are looking for new challenges and social contact now that employment no longer provides that. And, yes, I am one of them too!

But I am in awe of the friend who took up Russian in her 60s because she wanted to play an active part in an organisation called 'Mothers for Peace' who needed a Russian speaker to lead trips to Russia before the end of the Cold War. Or the friend who is now fluent in Spanish after discovering Cuba in her late 50s at a time when the most common 2nd language for Cubans was Russian and whom I confess I rely on a lot when we are their together because her vocabulary is so much more extensive than my own. She even understands the rules of the subjective tense whereas I have to hope that I can get by speaking mainly in the present tense! Or the friends who took up both Spanish and French in their 60s never having really spoken much of either since leaving school in order to Skype with their grandsons living in Barcelona with their son and French daughter-in-law. They thought that the kids had enough on their plates with the Spanish and Catalan. The kids are now older and quadlingual (is there such a word ) and my friends French and Spanish is now much improved too.

I guess that the two main reasons why so many of we British manage to get by without learning other languages is that a) so many of the Europeans we meet, or even those in more far flung places, are quite likely to speak English and b) many of us lack the personal or social incentives that my friends all had to gain a really good proficiency in another language.

I'll shut up now before Glynis politely reminds me that I have definitely gone

SM

I'll shut up now before Glynis politely reminds me that I have definitely gone

NEVER MIND Glynis the pair of you

Choo Choo trenes espanoles por favor

I was telling you all that I was going (it's the written word yet again )

MalcW wrote:

Thank you for your replies and I think it's a very good point about the lack of multilingual staff at British railway stations. I think I may have just been very lucky in the past as I have been able to get by quite successfully with a little French and even less Spanish travelling on trains throughout Europe, including in Finland where I was dreading trying to travel around the country with zero Finnish(!) but I found that everyone either spoke perfect English or French or, when we had no common language, we still managed to communicate by writing things down or through assorted land gestures! More than once we ended up in fits of laughter but managed somehow!

Wow I can handle the Spanish and italian but I daren't even attempt Finnish

Anyone know if the trains and bus services run regular over the Christmas/New Year period, would love a day in Barcelona and other resorts while we are in Lloret from 28/12 for the New Year , will be a trip down memory lane as its been a long time since out last visit.

MalcW wrote:

Thank you for your replies and I think it's a very good point about the lack of multilingual staff at British railway stations. I think I may have just been very lucky in the past as I have been able to get by quite successfully with a little French and even less Spanish travelling on trains throughout Europe, including in Finland where I was dreading trying to travel around the country with zero Finnish(!) but I found that everyone either spoke perfect English or French or, when we had no common language, we still managed to communicate by writing things down or through assorted land gestures! More than once we ended up in fits of laughter but managed somehow!

If you come to Brum you will find many multilingual staff on our railways and buses. Languages such as Hindi, Gujerati, Polish, Urdu just to name a few!

Llindy,
as far as i remember you should be able to get bus and train every day though there is a reduced service on bank holidays

this will help with buses and timetables and this will help with train times
i hope you enjoy your trip down memory lane