Seville has one main intercity train station, Sevilla Santa Justa. A smaller second station, Sevilla San Bernardo, handles Cercanías commuter services and a few regional trains. A third name that often confuses travellers, Plaza de Armas, is a bus station, not a train station.
If your ticket says Sevilla, Sevilla Santa Justa, or just Santa Justa, you are arriving at the main station. Almost every traveller does.
Sevilla Santa Justa: the main station
Santa Justa handles every intercity service to and from Seville. AVE high-speed trains run to Madrid and Barcelona via Córdoba, and southward to Málaga María Zambrano and Granada via Antequera. Alvia trains run from Madrid to Cádiz through Santa Justa. Intercity and Media Distancia regional services reach Algeciras, Almería, Huelva, and Jaén. Iryo and Ouigo run high-speed services on the Madrid corridor. The station is also the hub of the Cercanías Sevilla commuter network. It serves around 12.7 million passengers a year.
Santa Justa opened on 2 May 1991, ahead of Seville Expo 92 and the new Madrid to Seville high-speed line. It replaced an older two-terminus arrangement: Plaza de Armas, the city’s original main railway station on the banks of the Guadalquivir, served trains heading north; a separate southern terminus, sometimes called the Cádiz station, served the south. Adif owns the infrastructure; Renfe operates most services.
Santa Justa sits east of the historic centre. Close enough to reach the old town easily, too far to walk comfortably with heavy luggage. A short tunnel connects Santa Justa to the underground San Bernardo station, which is how Cercanías trains run as through services across the city rather than terminating.
Platforms, security, and what to expect inside
Santa Justa has 12 platforms in two distinct groups, and you need to know which one you want before you head for the train.
Platforms 1 to 7 are standard-gauge tracks for all the high-speed and intercity services: AVE, Iryo, Ouigo, and Intercity. They sit upstairs, and access is controlled. You take the travelator up from the main hall, put your bags through an X-ray scanner in the passageway, then have the QR code on your ticket scanned at the top of the travelator down to your platform. Luggage control takes a few minutes, with no metal detectors and nothing like airport security. The QR scan only happens when boarding starts.
Platforms 8 to 12 are Iberian-gauge tracks for Cercanías commuter trains and regional services. Access is free. There is no luggage check and no QR scan. You walk from the main hall straight to the platform.
The Renfe and Iryo ticket offices sit side by side in the main hall. Renfe ticket machines are also in the hall, though they will not always handle every fare type or pass-holder reservation. For a Renfe Premium AVE ticket, the Sala Club lounge is upstairs.
One practical surprise: Santa Justa does not have left-luggage lockers inside the station. Privately run lockers are around 3 minutes’ walk across the road, useful for a day in Seville between trains.
Sevilla San Bernardo: the smaller second station
San Bernardo is a small underground station south of Santa Justa, mainly used by Cercanías Sevilla commuter trains and a handful of Media Distancia regional services. Most travellers will never need it. But if your ticket says Sevilla San Bernardo, get off at San Bernardo, not Santa Justa.
The tunnel link between Santa Justa and San Bernardo is what makes Cercanías trains run as through services across the city. San Bernardo also sits closer to the old town than Santa Justa, which is useful if you happen to be on a Cercanías service and your hotel is on that side.
Plaza de Armas is a bus station, not a train station
Plaza de Armas is Seville’s long-distance coach terminal, used by Alsa and other bus operators for routes to Faro and across Portugal and Andalusia. It is not a train station, and no train arrives or departs there.
The confusion is historical. Plaza de Armas was Seville’s first main railway station, situated on the banks of the Guadalquivir. It closed when Santa Justa opened in 1991 and the rail tracks on the river bank were removed as part of the redevelopment for Expo 92. The modern long-distance bus terminal now occupies the area and inherited the name. If you see “Plaza de Armas” in a booking system, it almost certainly means the bus station.
Getting from Santa Justa to the city centre
There is no metro from Santa Justa. Seville does have a metro, but it does not reach the station, and there is no tram link either. The old town is a hike with luggage. With bags, take a taxi; without bags, walk or take a TUSSAM bus.
| Option | Notes |
|---|---|
| Taxi from the main exit | Plentiful at the rank in front of the station; usually no need to book |
| TUSSAM city bus | Several TUSSAM routes call at Santa Justa |
| Walk | Old town is walkable from Santa Justa, but not enjoyable with heavy luggage |
The taxi rank is directly outside the main exit, with plenty of cars on standby. If you are travelling light, the walk west to the cathedral and Santa Cruz takes around half an hour on flat ground.
Getting to Seville San Pablo airport (SVQ)
Seville San Pablo airport has no rail link. The standard public-transport option from the city is the EA airport bus, which serves Santa Justa, San Bernardo, and Plaza de Armas among its city stops.
The bus is the cheapest option. A taxi from the centre or Santa Justa to the airport is faster, and worth it if your timing is tight or you have a lot of luggage.
Reservations and operators on the Madrid corridor
Three operators now run high-speed trains between Madrid and Seville through Santa Justa: Renfe (AVE and Alvia), Iryo, and Ouigo. All three require a seat reservation. There is no walk-up, no-reservation option on high-speed services in Spain.
Renfe runs the most departures, with AVE branded as the standard high-speed product. Iryo is a private operator with comparable speeds and modern rolling stock. Ouigo is a low-cost high-speed service with restrictive baggage and fare rules in exchange for cheaper headline prices. Compare all three before booking, because the cheapest option changes day to day.
If you are travelling on an Interrail or Eurail pass, you need to book a separate Spanish high-speed reservation through the relevant operator. Pass holder availability is limited, particularly in summer, so book as early as you can.
When you check your booking, confirm that the station shown is Sevilla Santa Justa, note the operator, and look at the platform number on the departure screen when it appears. With those three details settled, Seville is one of the simpler Spanish cities to arrive in by train.
Information based on operator sources and station guides as of June 2026. Journey times, fares, and facilities can change; check the relevant operator or station website before you travel.
