EUROPE: Stopping the sale of tickets on-board a train is out of the question for the Spanish and Portuguese state railway operators. The topic arose after Belgium’s SNCB announced the end of this sales channel from July 1, 2026. For Renfe and CP, on-board ticket sales remain ‘a very important channel’ for their Spanish and Portuguese passengers, respectively, the companies told Railway Gazette International.
Despite the existence of sales channels such as mobile apps and the internet, some passengers still rely on ticket offices to acquire their access to the train, and in some countries, more so than others. Most smaller stations do not have any offices or ticket machines, and in many countries, this means you cannot just get on a train to buy your ticket there.
In Belgium, SNCB is ceasing on-board ticket sales following the rise in aggression against staff, with 2 602 cases recorded in 2025, an average of seven per day, compared to 2 103 cases the year before. Moreover, only 1.5% of SNCB tickets are sold onboard. In the Iberian Peninsula, buying a ticket on board the train is still possible, and the option is not going away for the foreseeable future.
On its website, Spanish state operator Renfe says that on-board ticket sales are ‘an exception’. However, the company recognises that possibility as a ‘very important channel’, mainly for ‘last-minute sales’ and to ‘cover locations without any offices or machines’. All the 1 700 Renfe conductors have a portable device that includes onboard ticket sales.
Passengers can buy their tickets with a bank card or with cash, specifically in locations without a (reliable) internet connection. In 2025, Renfe sold around 1.8 million tickets on board, with bank cards (51%) slightly ahead of cash (49%) regarding payment options. In that year, the operator transported more than 531 million passengers across all its services.
Spain: ticket sales on all trains
Renfe allows on-board ticket sales on all its trains, including high speed, suburban and regional services. In 2025, almost three-quarters (73%) of its operations were on regional journeys (Media Distancia), followed by suburban trips (Cercanías), with 20%. Long-distance trains took the remaining 7%.
Trains with compulsory seat reservation also allow on-board sales. When all seats are occupied, non-assigned seat tickets are sold, depending on the assessment of a conductor, explains Renfe.
On its website, Renfe explains that internet and mobile app ticket sales do not lead to additional costs for the company. However, other channels do have some additional expenses; therefore, there is a 5.5% surcharge at ticket offices and 3.5% for station machines and phone sales. Passengers can also buy their tickets through travel agencies.
Portugal: no cash, no ticket (yet)
In the neighbouring Portugal, buying an on-board ticket on CP trains is only allowed ‘when the station and its 200 m surrounding area have no machines or offices available for the acquisition’, indicates the state operator’s webpage. In that scenario, ‘the passenger must meet the conductor immediately after boarding and before occupying a seat’. The ticket is sold without any surcharge.
However, the passenger has to have cash on hand. Otherwise, you cannot buy a ticket. CP says it is working on this issue: ‘In 2025, we replaced all the conductor equipment, which have new functionalities. Right now, we are running a test project for payments with a bank card,’ the company told Railway Gazette International.
Standing long-distance ticket
In Portugal, sales channels depend on the services: tickets for long-distance trains (Alfa Pendular and Intercidades) with seats assigned are available on CP’s website and mobile app, at ticket offices, by phone, at vending machines in the Lisboa metropolitan area, through travel agencies and on the Omio platform.
Nevertheless, in some stations with the Intercidades service (under the public service contract), there are no ticket offices or machines available. In those cases, passengers have to meet the conductor, who can sell a ticket without an assigned seat. Since the €20 ticket was launched in October 2024, there have been some issues with seat availability on Intercidades trains without ticket offices, mainly in Alentejo.
On-board sales do decline
On the other hand, the €20 ticket is facilitating the passengers’ journey, specifically on regional services. In many of the stations and halts, there are no offices or machines. Before the monthly card, users would have to meet the conductor to buy the ticket. Now, passengers with the €20 ticket only wait for the conductor to validate their journey.
This is a contributing factor to the decrease in the on-board ticket sales over the last few years in Portugal: in 2025, only 1.2% of all the tickets were sold on the train, just below the 1.3% registered in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, it represented 2% and 1.9% of the overall sales, diminishing in the following years: 1.5%, 1.4% and 1.3% in 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Since many passengers are still not familiar with online sales channels, onboard tickets will remain an option for the Iberian Peninsula state operators for the next few years, opposed to what is happening in the rest of Western Europe.