| Renfe Trenhotel | |
| Type: | Inter-city rail |
| Locale: | Spain |
| Operator: | Renfe Operadora Comboios de Portugal |
| Class: | Sleeper Service (Turista, Preferente, Gran Clase) and Seats (Turista, Preferente) |
| Catering: | Dining car and café |
| Stock: | Talgo |
| Speed: | (top) |
| Map State: | collapsed |
Trenhotel was a long distance, overnight train service which used Talgo tilting trains[1] and sleeping cars developed by the Spanish rail network operator Renfe. It was operated by Renfe within Spain, and by its subsidiary Elipsos across France, Switzerland and Italy.
The specially developed Talgo carriages were sometimes used by other railway companies, although usually in other livery. Trenhotel also offered special facilities for disabled passengers. A more basic night train service called Tren Estrella previously operated within Spain; this used traditional carriages on conventional Spanish (broad gauge) tracks.
All remaining night train services were effectively terminated in March 2020 during the COVID pandemic and were not replaced, due to some routes being covered by daytime high-speed trains, the age of rolling stock and the diminishing popularity of some of the services. [2]
Each Talgo train is composed of several interchangeable carriage types, permitting flexible composition depending on the mission. Tilting train technology is used with the series IV, V, VI and VII carriages.
The series IV do not have gauge change required for cross-border routes and high speed lines, consequently being restricted to operate within the Iberian Peninsula standard network. The series VI are approved for circulation in France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Portugal.
A typical Trenhotel composition has:[3]
Trenhotel units ordinarily travel at between 180km/h and 220km/h[4] with an average speed of around 200km/h.
Trenhotel units are trailers so all need to incorporate a tractor locomotive. Within Spain, Trenhotel usually uses a Renfe series 252 in electrified areas and Renfe series 334 diesel locomotive in non-electrified areas, while in Portugal it uses CP Series 5600 electric locomotive in electrified areas and CP Series 1400 diesel locomotive in non-electrified areas (only needed if the train is diverted via Badajoz). On international routes the locomotive unit is changed at the border (Vilar Formoso).
Trenhotel routes are named after famous Spanish places or people. As of recently, Trenhotel routes are limited, so passengers should make sure to check with a train station (or online train app) as to which ones are running.
| Domestic routes | ||
| Service Name | Spanish rail stations visited | |
| Galicia ruta La Coruña Barcelona-Sants to A Coruña via Zaragoza & Leon | Barcelona-Sants · Campo de Tarragona · Lérida-Pirineos · Zaragoza-Delicias · Tudela de Navarra · Castejón de Ebro · Logroño · Burgos-Rosa de Lima · Palencia · León · Astorga · Ponferrada · O Barco de Valdeorras · A Rúa-Petín · San Clodio-Quiroga · Monforte de Lemos · Sarria · Lugo · Curtis · Betanzos-Infesta · A Coruña | |
| Galicia ruta Vigo Barcelona-Sants to Vigo via Zaragoza & Leon | Barcelona-Sants · Campo de Tarragona · Lérida-Pirineos · Zaragoza-Delicias · Tudela de Navarra · Castejón de Ebro · Logroño · Burgos-Rosa de Lima · Palencia · León · Astorga · Ponferrada · O Barco de Valdeorras · A Rúa-Petín · San Clodio-Quiroga · Monforte de Lemos · Ourense-Empalme · Guillarrei · O Porriño · Redondela de Galicia · Vigo | |
| Rías Gallegas/Rías Baixas Madrid - Chamartín to Vigo via Leon & Ourense | Madrid-Chamartín · Ávila· Medina del Campo · Valladolid-Campo Grande · León · Veguellina · Astorga · Bembibre · Ponferrada · O Barco de Valdeorras · A Rúa-Petín · San Clodio-Quiroga · Monforte de Lemos · Ourense-Empalme · Ribadabia · Guillarrei · O Porriño · Redondela· Vigo · Pontevedra | |
| Atlántico Madrid-Chamartín to A Coruña and Ferrol via Leon & Lugo | Madrid-Chamartín · Ávila · Medina del Campo · Valladolid-Campo Grande · León · Veguellina · Astorga · Bembibre · Ponferrada · O Barco de Valdeorras · A Rúa-Petín · San Clodio-Quiroga · Monforte de Lemos · Sarria · Lugo · Gutiriz · Curtis · Betanzos-Infesta · A Coruña · Betanzos-Cidade · Pontedeume · Ferrol | |
| International routes | ||
| Service Name | European stations visited | |
| Sud-Expresso Hendaye to Lisboa Santa Apolónia via Coimbra-B | Hendaye (France) · Irún (Spain) · San Sebastián · Vitoria · Miranda de Ebro · Burgos-Rosa de Lima · Valladolid-Campo Grande · Medina del Campo · Salamanca · Ciudad Rodrigo · Fuentes de Oñoro (Spain) · Villar Formoso (Portugal)· Guarda · Celorico da Beira · Mangualde · Santa Comba Dão · Coimbra-B · Pombal · Caxarias· Entroncamento · Lisboa Oriente · Lisboa Santa Apolónia | |
| LusitâniaMadrid-Chamartín to Lisboa Santa Apolónia via Salamanca | Madrid-Chamartín · Ávila · Medina del Campo · Salamanca · Ciudad Rodrigo · Fuentes de Oñoro (Spain) · Villar Formoso (Portugal)· Guarda · Celorico da Beira · Mangualde · Santa Comba Dão · Coimbra-B · Pombal · Caxarias· Entroncamento · Lisboa Oriente · Lisboa Santa Apolónia | |
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trenhotel connections were discontinued beginning March 17, 2020. At the end of April 2020, Renfe announced the suspension of all night Trenhotel services due to lack of profitability. As a result, Lisbon loses its only international train connection to the rest of Europe.[5] After talks with regional governments, Renfe announced on May 2, 2020 that Trenhotel services to the Spanish region of Galicia would not be discontinued.[6] However by the end of April 2021, none of the suspended services had been reintroduced.[7] [8]