A hotel on rails! Renfe's Trenhotel from Barcelona to Vigo | Cama Gran Clase
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- Hi, so this is my trip report about Renfe's night train, the Trenhotel. With a ticket for the "Cama Gran Clase" it really feels like a hotel on rails. You get a separate cabin, only accessible with a keycard. Overall a very special trip!
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Hola a todos, hope you enjoy this little trip report. Stay healthy and have an amazing Sunday.
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I appreciate how made the effort to pixelate other people's faces. Well done!
Well, I try to do what I can to ensure the privacy of employees and other passengers. Thanks for watching!
Christian from travelmentary TV
Esto es más cómodo que la alta velocidad y más ecológico. Creo por el centro de Europa están volviendo los trenes nocturnos.
I believe the security at Spanish rail stations appeared in response to the bombing at Atocha station. I think it's reassuring and I don't mind that if it's done in a fair and courteous manner.
As always , a very nice video. I really enjoy your style of presentation. About security on trains, it should be based on threat perceived by any country/station. Even I felt that the food was very disappointing and there is a room for improvement. Hope you had a pleasant stay. Looking forward to see your next video!! Stay safe!!
Hi, glad to have you here! Thanks for your kind words. With regards to security controls, I believe the main problem about implementing it is the fact the infrastructure was not made for it. Many of the stations were built in the 19th or early 20th century when nobody could even imagine that one day high speed trains would leave the tracks every couple of minutes, let alone that security controls would be implemented. If it was possible at all, it would lead to an increase of travel time and a loss of flexibility. Both would be a major disadvantage for this sort of transport.
Anyway, I’m happy you enjoy the videos, I am constantly working on new ones even though the lack of interest in anything travel related is an apparent consequence of COVID-19 on UA-cam. But I enjoy what I’m doing and I’m happy that subscribers like you keep coming back to my channel.
Christian from travelmentary TV
Great video I do like the RENFE lounge. In terms of the security personally I do not think there needs to be loads of security for getting on trains however it is understandable because Europe has been a hot-spot for terror attacks in the last few years and they want to keep there staff and passangers safe. Your room on the train looked quite modern in particular with the entertainment system. I do think there should have been some better choices on the menu for both dinner and breakfast but at least there is food to eat and in the future I would want to go on a night train there are only 2 services here in Britain (Caledonian lowland and highlamd sleeper and the great Western night riviera) but there are tons more in mainland Europe to try
I enjoyed this train trip across Spain. It was very interesting. I hope you enjoyed your time in Vigo.
Hi, thanks a lot for watching and your comment! Yes, Spain is always fun to visit, I‘m looking forward to producing more videos from there.
Christian from travelmentary TV
Gran Classe raises the expectations , the cabin felt cramped but worse was the food .
I think you are correct it has suffered from cost cutting . All train services seem to work on the premise now that there is a captured audience so they can charge what they like and offer very poor options .
The result is fewer and fewer people use the service because they can bring their own food with a greater variety and cheaper .
One day I hope they will experiment with keeping the cost down and offering high quality options in order to refill the restaurant cars on night trains , they used to be packed and have several sittings .
Midnight Trains are intending to re introduce luxury travel on night trains let’s hope they succeed.
I agree with you on the food, but the cabin was really good for a public train service. Let‘s not forget that this is not some luxury train. Unfortunately this train service has been shut down since the pandemic and I have no evidence that it might come back into service 🤷♂️
Gosh, that was fun to watch. I really, really like that you can secure your room whilst eating. The food did look less-than-stellar. Hope your Holidays are wonderful!
Hi there, thank you very much for watching and your comment! Glad you enjoyed this production :). Yeah, as I said the food is the weak spot of this product, but overall it is a fun trip to make.
Christian from travelmentary TV
It is a pity that Renfe has eliminated this train. it was at the beginning of the pandemic, Renfe decided to eliminate this train and it seems that we will not see it again :(
Absolutely, let's hope they reactivate it at some point. Thank you for watching!
Christian from travelmentary TV
I did this trip 10 years ago. At that time they offered a very nice sit down dinner in a dining cart. It was very luxurious. Have they done away with that? If so, what a shame because that was a highlight of the train ride.
Hi and welcome to this channel! Thanks a lot for your comment, that sounds very interesting. I think at least in the new trainsets there is no luxurious dining experience. But are we actually talking about the same train service? As far as I know Renfe also operates some Orient-Epress-like luxury trains? You can see them here: ua-cam.com/video/kRVHuQid438/v-deo.html
Anyway, thanks for watching.
Christian from travelmentary TV
@@travelmentaryTV thank you. I am pretty sure it was the same train. The room looked very familiar. But the train I rode in had a very nice sit down dining room. It was great.
Glad to hear you had a good trip! Well, I guess the onboard catering became part of a cost cutting effort, which you can see on other trains as well.
You speak a very good spanish! Gracias por el video!!
Muchas gracias por tú comentario!
Your trenhotel departed from Barcellona Sants on the 25kv 50hz 1.435m ETCS Level 2 tracks at some point in the trip to Vigo your talgo coach will go through a gauge changer just like when your coach did France to Spain services
Hi thanks for watching and providing those details :)
@@travelmentaryTV el cambio de ancho era en Zaragoza. Aunque ya no existe este tren nocturno, hay un Alvia diurno que hace el mismo recorrido, con el cambio de ancho en Zaragoza. Hace un cambio de ancho de vía y de tensión eléctrica, ancho 1435 a 1668 y tensión 25 kv CA a 3kv CC
I agree with controls
Thanks for watching and sharing your opinion!
Christian from travelmentary TV
Hi! Very nice video indeed. I have a question tough. You uploaded your video on the 22 nov 2020, but I guess it is not filmed around this time? Due to Corona these trains where suspended I believe and I didn't notice any other measures taken in the video. There is the rumour that these trains would not be coming back after their "corona wintersleep". Do you know anything about that? Thanks!
Hello and thanks for watching! This video was filmed shortly before the “official” Corona outbreak, so it’s from my archive. With regards to the train service, yes, it was suspended and so far there are no news about it. Personally I believe it is too early to say what they will eventually do with it. In a lot of European countries night trains are a concept that has a comeback as an environmentally sustainable way of traveling. Spain is a special country though, they have a highly sophisticated rail network that isn’t used as much as in other countries.
I think we will see what happens with the Trenhotel once the pandemic is under control.
Christian from travelmentary TV
@@travelmentaryTV Thanks for your answer. I also believe we will have to wait for the future but I don't have a good feeling about it. As we can see in your video to, the trains on the Barcelona - Vigo line are new and in much better condition than for example the Sud Expresso from Hendaye to Lisbon. It would be real shame to cancel such a nice train. I wan't to make a trip from Belgium to Porto, and I prefer the route via Vigo instead of Hendaye. I hope I will be able to do it this way.
Yes, I agree the train is super new and a pleasure to travel with. Also I agree with you, that the future of it is unclear. With the crisis surrounding Corona, there will be painful budgetary decisions. Here’s an article about the tren hotel written by a Spanish newspaper in August of last year: www.laopinioncoruna.es/coruna/2020/08/22/gobierno-condiciona-recuperacion-tren-hotel-23452130.amp.html
Anyway, thanks for watching and if you enjoy my videos please don’t forget to subscribe :)
Christian from travelmentary TV
Recuerdo ir ahi
Thanks for video. Which 3rd party website did you use to book the ticket, and how were you able to search up the timetables of the trenhotel?
Hi and welcome to this channel. Well, first I looked for trains on the Renfe website, which is a good place, if you want to stress your nervous system ;). I ended up booking at Loco2, which I believe has become Rail Europe in the meantime. Keep in mind this was all before the pandemic. Since then, things have changed: The railway service was stopped and I am not sure if they have restarted operations yet.
Once again, thanks for watching. If you'd like to see more videos, please don't forget to subscribe.
Christian from travelmentary TV
It's my new goal in life to travel around Spain in the Cama Gran Clase.
I'm afraid you won't be able to anytime soon unless you choose on of the tourist trains... Just two of them
Hello very very good video
Thanks a lot!
Security checks at the train station doesn't make sense to me. Train would loose one of advatages over airplane on shorter distances. I love when I don't have to spend more time than needed at the train station.
Hi, thanks a lot for watching and your comment! I agree that security checks would probably would make the travel more complicated. That discussion comes back with every terrorist attack, but I believe most train stations are not able to handle security controls like on airports, the infrastructure was not made for that.
Christian from travelmentary TV
@@travelmentaryTV For a country like Spain that for decades has suffered several terrorist attacks, these security controls have all the sense in the world.
@@jaimealz Hi! Well, I believe the problem is the implementation. Most railway stations were built in a different era, when those considerations were absent. They may lack the space for for a 21 century security concept.
Another major aspect is that this would affect the competitiveness of railway travel. At this point it is relatively hassle-free, you just hop on a train and that’s it. With new security controls, passengers would lose time - and some may reconsider their choice and take the plane instead.
@@travelmentaryTV Hi! I understand your point of view, your arguments make sense, but I assure you that we Spaniards do not feel bothered by the implementation of controls that are for our security.
Hi again and sorry for the delayed reply on my behalf, just wanted to say thanks for sharing your point of view, too. It’s a very difficult topic with many arguments. Although I’m not really in favor of new security controls in railway travel, I also understand your opinion on that topic. In any case I wish you good and safe trips!
Christian from travelmentary TV
Hi could you let us know in which website you bought these tickets. It's impossible to find the correct train on Renfe website 😞. Thanks
Hello Don, the reason for that is not Renfe's website, but the fact that this particular train has been terminated during corona and has not restarted services again. It is unclear, whether it will. Btw, thank you for watching and please don't forget to subscribe to my channel and to click on the bell icon for more videos.
Christian from travelmentary TV
@@travelmentaryTV many thanks for the information 👍
You're most welcome :)
Este tren ya no circula.
Interesting journey
Thank you for watching!
How mutch adrid to Lisbonne ?
I would pass on that Renfe dinner and buy my take-away dinner at the train station. Otherwise, an interesting report, as usual.
Hi, good to see you here! Yes, that would be my recommendation - bring your own food. Other than that it’s a nice train service.
Christian from travelmentary TV
Is this train still goin?
No, unfortunately it was terminated during the pandemic and has not resumed service ever since. This topic wanders around in the media every once in a while: www.atlantico.net/articulo/vigo/piden-regreso-trenes-nocturnos-vigo/202403090100591023238.html
So far though (April 2024) the train has not come back.
Very interesting...
Thanks for watching!
Does that he seat recline at all
Do you mean the 2 seats in the cabin? They are attached at the back, no room for reclining. Instead, the whole bottom section converts into a bed by pulling from the handle behind the seats (said handle is briefly visible at 6:16)
El tren ya hace 4 años no existe
Why don't you try grand central in England (the best train in the UK)
I plan to do some videos about the UK railway in future, thanks for the travel idea!
Christian from travelmentary TV
I was eat cancer pagurus cake🦀