let’s start traveling on foot

“It is common in Europe.”

With these words, Óscar Puente, Minister of Transport, justified the possibility of traveling standing on medium-distance trains. Puente referred to this possibility in Twenty-something hourprogram of the Chain Being. There, it was assured that the Government is studying this possibility and 2026 aims to be key to carrying out a new way of traveling.

“It is not being done”. And it is totally true. Puente pointed out in the aforementioned program that on medium-distance trains in Spain you cannot travel standing. And as in France or Portugal, it is prohibited to use regional trains without reserving a seat (as long as Renfe does not say otherwise, as we will see) so you can only stand in the spaces between carriages or in the area relative to the cafeteria.

At that moment, Puente took the opportunity to announce that Renfe welcomes the proposal and that they have on the table launching a pilot test on a short line, one that is not particularly long. In Xataka We have asked Renfe about this possibility but they have not given an answer as to when this pilot test would be launched or where. They assure, in this case, that the decision belongs to Transport.

Logroño-Zaragoza. The origin of the statements must be sought on the line between Logroño and Zaragoza passing through Pamplona. There, passengers have seen how medium distance trains have been replaced by Cercanías’ own vehicles for shorter trips. This caused some passengers to have to make the trip standing since there were no seated seats available, since the trains had a smaller number of seats.

Already in July 2024Puente pointed out that this was something that had to change. In September 2025Renfe announced that new trains were arriving for the route between Logroño and Zaragoza, with a greater number of seats and cafeteria service since the new vehicles prioritized capacity over this option.

Can you travel standing for medium distances? Technically yes, as long as there are any of the circumstances that Renfe points out on its website:

• Medium distance services without reservation
• Trains that stop at stations without sales, in which the traveler must buy the ticket en route: since it is not possible to reserve a seat, it is possible that there are no free seats.
• Travelers who have boarded without a ticket and have to regularize it en route, if at that moment there is no free seat.
• As an exception, on trains with the right to a seat, if Renfe so determines.

And on the company’s own website, two cases are specified in which it is common to travel like this in our country. The first is the regional trains of Catalonia, as Puente pointed out in the Cadena Ser interview. The other is the possibility that a Cercanías train is being used for a medium-distance service, which is exactly what has been happening in Logroño-Zaragoza.

In addition, it is specified that “travel insurance is assigned to the ticket, not to the seat. That is, every traveler with a ticket travels insured, regardless of whether they do so standing or sitting.”

Europe. In his speech, Puente already pointed out that this is common in some European countries. Although the Minister did not then indicate which trains he was referring to, the truth is that in the Netherlands, Switzerland or Belgium they offer the sale of trains in which a seat is not assigned unless they are indicated.

In the countries where this possibility is available, it is because travelers usually make relatively short regional journeys. So, for example, in Germany You buy a ticket for a regional train and the seat reservation is an added bonus. Something similar happens in Italy where their regional trains do not have an assigned seat unless you opt for their first class.

And where is the advantage? Mainly, there are two advantages to the service. The first is that if this option is offered, the volume of passengers traveling on each train can be greatly increased. Of course, Renfe would have to use modified trains or versions more similar to those of Cercanías to be able to offer this service.

The second is that, as in Italy, the train ticket schedule is flexible. For example, in Italy a travel day is allocated but you can take the train at any time you prefer. In other cases, a time is selected and that same train can be taken in an open time window before and after the original time, which makes the possibilities for the traveler more flexible.

Obviously, this requires the train to be able to accommodate a number of passengers that exceeds the seating capacity, so if the seat is not reserved in advance, it is possible that the passenger travels the entire journey standing or has to get up at some point to leave said space for another passenger.

Photo | PJH and Xataka

In Xataka | We have tried to write this article using the AVE WiFi and we have come up short