Spain

Madrid

Spain's capital of grand museums and a royal palace. One of Europe's largest metro networks covers the city.

Cercanías Madrid

Tap a contactless card or phone at the gate; keep to one card and singles drop 40% from your fifth trip of the calendar month. The trap is the exit: fail to tap out and you are billed the top fare for the whole network.

Updated on August 20, 2026

How to ride

1
Decide on card or ticket before you go

Decide first whether to ride straight in with a contactless bank card or to buy a ticket at a counter or machine.
2
If buying, buy for the zones you cross

At a counter or machine, buy for the number of zones your trip crosses, then start the trip within two hours.
3
Tap in at the gate or the free-standing reader

Card or ticket, always tap at the gate or the free-standing validator before you go through.
4
Tap out with the same thing at your destination

Tap again on the way out. Miss it and a card is charged the network's top fare; a ticket stops being valid.
5
Show the card you tapped in with

If a conductor checks tickets, show the same card or phone you tapped in with.

Fares

Single fares1

Cercanías single ticket (by zones)

Set by how many zones you cross; tapping in with a bank card costs the same.

1.7〜5.5 EUR ≈ $2–6

Passes & multi-ride1

Tourist ticket, zone T (1-7 days)

Covers the whole Cercanías network; for the city alone, zone A costs 10.30-43.20 EUR.

15.4〜62.8 EUR ≈ $17–70

Estimates use exchange rates as of November 3, 2026

Payment

Tap to ride The gates and free-standing validators of Cercanías Madrid

Not available at Móstoles-El Soto, Santa Eugenia or Ramón y Cajal

VISAMastercardDiscoverDinersJCBAmex銀聯

It only buys single fares, and you must tap both in and out.

Phone wallet

The same three unequipped stations apply

The same card virtualised on a phone taps in exactly the same way.

Card payment at machines Unverified

Machines take credit cards; whether contactless works is unstated.

IC card

At the gates: Load a CRTM tourist ticket or travel pass onto a TTP card and tap through.

App tickets

Cercanías RenfeMi Tarjeta Transporte

Paper tickets

At machines: Sold at counters and machines; start the trip within two hours of buying.

Cash

At machines: Depends on the machine - some take coins and notes, others are card only.

Quick facts

Fares from

1.7 EUR+

Heads-up

The C-9 into the Guadarrama mountains is closed

The C-9, which climbs from Cercedilla via Puerto de Navacerrada to Cotos, has been closed for track renewal since 5 May 2024 and no trains run. Five replacement coaches a day run instead, but you must reserve a seat in advance at a station counter or ticket machine and hold a ticket valid to zone C2. Bicycles and pets are not carried on the replacement coaches.
No e-scooters on board - bicycles are fine

Electric scooters, monowheels and other battery-powered personal mobility devices are not allowed on board - Renfe bans them in its own conditions of carriage on safety grounds. Wheelchairs and other mobility vehicles are exempt, as are pedal-assist e-bikes, and an ordinary bicycle travels free on suburban trains without folding it or reserving anything.