Spanish · Getting around · Elementary

How to buy a train ticket in Spanish

At the ticket office, la taquilla, ask “Un billete sencillo, por favor” or “¿Cuánto cuesta un billete de ida y vuelta?”. If the machine fails, say “La máquina no acepta mi tarjeta”. For a monthly pass, ask “¿Qué precio tiene el abono mensual?” and “¿Cómo se recarga el abono transporte?”.

Try it · about two minutes

At a metro or train station you buy a single, a return or a monthly pass from the machine or the ticket office.

Sound on: the station staff speaks Spanish. You choose what to say back, and Frasa tells you why it works.

The conversation

The ticket machine keeps rejecting your card. A member of staff is standing nearby.
You
La máquina no acepta mi tarjeta.
The machine won’t take my card.
Station staff
Pase a la ventanilla tres.
Go to window three.
You
Un billete sencillo al aeropuerto, por favor.
A single to the airport, please.
Station staff
Son tres con cincuenta.
That’s three fifty.
You
Aquí tiene.
Here you are.
Station staff
El tren con destino al aeropuerto sale por la vía cuatro.
The train to the airport leaves from platform four.
You
¿Y cuándo sale el próximo?
And when does the next one leave?
Station staff
El siguiente pasa en cinco minutos.
The next one comes in five minutes.
You
¿Cómo se recarga el abono transporte?
How do you top up the travel pass?
Station staff
Puede hacerlo desde la app.
You can do it from the app.
You
Muchas gracias.
Thank you very much.

Key phrases

¿Dónde está la taquilla?
Where’s the ticket office?
Un billete sencillo, por favor.
A single ticket, please.
¿Cuánto cuesta un billete de ida y vuelta?
How much is a return ticket?
La máquina no acepta mi tarjeta.
The machine won’t take my card.
El torno no me deja pasar.
The barrier won’t let me through.
¿Qué precio tiene el abono mensual?
How much is the monthly pass?
¿Cómo se recarga el abono transporte?
How do you top up the travel pass?
¿Qué documentos necesito para sacarme el abono?
What documents do I need to get a travel pass?
¿De qué vía sale mi tren?
Which platform does my train leave from?
Este billete no está validado.
This ticket hasn’t been validated.

Good to know in Spain

From ticket to train

1
Buy at the machine, or at the ticket office, la taquilla.
A single ticket, please.
2
Go through the barrier, el torno, with your ticket.
3
Check your platform, la vía, on the screens.
Which platform does my train leave from?

Monthly passes

Big cities have a monthly pass, the abono, usually loaded onto a personal transport card. How you get it and top it up varies by city, so ask at the station or check the transport app.

¿Qué precio tiene el abono mensual?

How much is the monthly pass?

Keep your ticket

Hold on to your ticket until you leave the station. Some lines check it at the exit barrier, and inspectors do come round.

Este billete no está validado.

This ticket hasn’t been validated.

More situations in Spanish

All situations in Spanish

Keep these phrases in Frasa

Frasa is an iPhone app for the conversations in front of you. Save phrases like these, rehearse them out loud, and they come back until they stick.

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AI-generated. May be inaccurate.