Trains, Buses & Tickets
Spanish Basic Conversation 1
Chapter 12 · Getting Around: Trains, Buses & Tickets
🚆 Getting Around — Trenes, autobuses y billetes
This last chapter covers buying a ticket (single or return), asking what time a train leaves and from which platform, taking the bus and the metro, and saying when you arrive. It also pulls together ser and estar in a short summary, and ends with a Course Complete recap. The tables give the respelling, and a Hard words box helps with the trickiest words.
① At the Ticket Office (formal) — Un billete de ida y vuelta
A:
Buenos días. Un billete para Sevilla, por favor.
Good morning. A ticket to Seville, please.
B:
¿De ida o de ida y vuelta?
Single or return?
A:
De ida y vuelta. Salgo hoy y vuelvo el domingo.
Return. I leave today and come back on Sunday.
B:
Son cincuenta y cinco euros.
That's 55 euros.
② Which Platform? — ¿De qué andén sale?
A:
Perdone, ¿a qué hora sale el tren a Sevilla?
Excuse me, what time does the train to Seville leave?
B:
Sale a las diez y media.
It leaves at half past ten.
A:
¿De qué andén sale?
Which platform does it leave from?
B:
Del andén cuatro.
From platform four.
③ On Arrival — ¿A qué hora llega?
A:
¿A qué hora llega el tren a Sevilla?
What time does the train arrive in Seville?
B:
Llega a las doce y cuarto.
It arrives at a quarter past twelve.
A:
¿Va directo?
Is it direct?
B:
Sí, es directo. Son dos horas.
Yes, it's direct. It takes two hours.
④ The Bus (informal) — ¿Este autobús va al centro?
A:
Perdona, ¿este autobús va al centro?
Sorry, does this bus go to the centre?
B:
Sí, va al centro. Para en la plaza Mayor.
Yes, it goes to the centre. It stops at the Plaza Mayor.
A:
¿Cuánto cuesta el billete?
How much is the ticket?
B:
Dos euros. Puedes pagar al conductor.
Two euros. You can pay the driver.
⑤ The Metro — Tengo que cambiar
A:
Perdone, ¿cómo voy al aeropuerto en metro?
Excuse me, how do I get to the airport by metro?
B:
Coja la línea ocho. Tiene que cambiar en Nuevos Ministerios.
Take line 8. You have to change at Nuevos Ministerios.
A:
¿Cuántas paradas son?
How many stops is it?
B:
Son seis paradas.
It's six stops.
⑥ A Late Train — El tren llega tarde
A:
Perdone, ¿el tren a Madrid llega tarde?
Excuse me, is the train to Madrid late?
B:
Sí, llega con quince minutos de retraso.
Yes, it's arriving fifteen minutes late.
A:
Vale. ¿Dónde está el andén?
OK. Where is the platform?
B:
Está allí, a la derecha. Buen viaje.
It's over there, on the right. Have a good trip.
🗣️ Key Phrases — Frases clave
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| A ticket to Madrid, please. | Un billete para Madrid, por favor. oon bee-YEH-teh PAH-rah mah-DREED por fah-BOR |
| Single / return | de ida / de ida y vuelta deh EE-dah / deh EE-dah ee BWEHL-tah |
| What time does the train leave? | ¿A qué hora sale el tren? ah keh OH-rah SAH-leh ehl TREHN |
| Which platform? | ¿De qué andén sale? deh keh ahn-DEHN SAH-leh |
| It arrives at… | Llega a las doce y cuarto. YEH-gah ah lahs DOH-theh ee KWAR-toh |
Billete, Ida y Vuelta
In Spain the word for a ticket (train, bus, plane) is un billete. Ida means "going" and vuelta "return", so a return ticket is un billete de ida y vuelta and a single is un billete de ida. Times use the clock from Chapter 7 (a las diez y media), and dates use el domingo, el doce de junio.
🚉 Transport Words — El transporte
| Spanish | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| el tren | ehl TREHN | train |
| el autobús | ehl ow-toh-BOOS | bus |
| el metro | ehl MEH-troh | metro, underground |
| el aeropuerto | ehl ah-eh-roh-PWEHR-toh | airport |
| el andén | ehl ahn-DEHN | platform |
| la parada | lah pah-RAH-dah | stop (bus, metro) |
| la línea | lah LEE-neh-ah | line |
| el retraso | ehl reh-TRAH-soh | delay |
Spanish trains and metros
| Name | What it is |
|---|---|
| Renfe | the Spanish state railway company, which runs most trains |
| el AVE | Renfe's high-speed long-distance train |
| Cercanías | commuter trains around big cities |
| el Metro de Madrid | Madrid's underground, with numbered, coloured lines |
🔤 Verbs — Salir, llegar, coger
Salir ("to leave, to go out") is regular except the yo form, salgo. Llegar ("to arrive") is a regular -ar verb. Coger ("to take, to catch") is regular except yo: cojo (g → j to keep the sound).
| salir (to leave) | llegar (to arrive) | coger (to take, catch) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo (I) | salgo SAHL-goh | llego YEH-goh | cojo KOH-khoh |
| tú (you, informal) | sales SAH-lehs | llegas YEH-gahs | coges KOH-khehs |
| él, ella, usted | sale SAH-leh | llega YEH-gah | coge KOH-kheh |
| nosotros (we) | salimos sah-LEE-mohs | llegamos yeh-GAH-mohs | cogemos koh-KHEH-mohs |
| vosotros (Spain) | salís sah-LEES | llegáis yeh-GAHYS | cogéis koh-KHAYS |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | salen SAH-lehn | llegan YEH-gahn | cogen KOH-khehn |
Ser or Estar? A Summary
Ser says what something is: identity, origin, profession, time, price (Es directo, Soy de Escocia, Son las diez). Estar says where something is or how it is at the moment (El andén está allí, El tren está en la vía cuatro). Both are in the dialogs above: es directo (a fact about the train) and está allí (its location). The long version is in Spanish Grammar 2 3.
📖 Vocabulary — Vocabulario
20 key words. Read the Spanish first, then check the respelling (CAPITALS = the stressed syllable).
| # | Spanish | Say it | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | el billete | ehl bee-YEH-teh | ticket | noun |
| 2 | el tren | ehl TREHN | train | noun |
| 3 | el autobús | ehl ow-toh-BOOS | bus | noun |
| 4 | el metro | ehl MEH-troh | metro | noun |
| 5 | el aeropuerto | ehl ah-eh-roh-PWEHR-toh | airport | noun |
| 6 | el andén | ehl ahn-DEHN | platform | noun |
| 7 | la parada | lah pah-RAH-dah | stop | noun |
| 8 | la línea | lah LEE-neh-ah | line | noun |
| 9 | el viaje | ehl BYAH-kheh | trip, journey | noun |
| 10 | el retraso | ehl reh-TRAH-soh | delay | noun |
| 11 | de ida | deh EE-dah | single (one-way) | phrase |
| 12 | de ida y vuelta | deh EE-dah ee BWEHL-tah | return | phrase |
| 13 | directo | dee-REHK-toh | direct | adj |
| 14 | tarde / temprano | TAR-deh / tehm-PRAH-noh | late / early | adv |
| 15 | salir | sah-LEER | to leave | verb |
| 16 | llegar | yeh-GAR | to arrive | verb |
| 17 | coger | koh-KHEHR | to take, to catch | verb |
| 18 | cambiar | kahm-BYAR | to change | verb |
| 19 | volver | bohl-BEHR | to come back | verb |
| 20 | ¡Buen viaje! | BWEHN BYAH-kheh | Have a good trip! | phrase |
Hard Words
billete = bee-YEH-teh (ll like English "y") · autobús = ow-toh-BOOS (stress on the last syllable) · aeropuerto = ah-eh-roh-PWEHR-toh · andén = ahn-DEHN · viaje = BYAH-kheh · retraso = reh-TRAH-soh · coger = koh-KHEHR. Phrases for now: Coja la línea ocho (a command, "take line 8"), Tiene que cambiar ("you have to change"), Vuelvo el domingo ("I come back on Sunday") and llega con quince minutos de retraso ("it arrives fifteen minutes late").
Tickets and Trains in Spain
Renfe runs most trains, including the high-speed AVE. Long-distance tickets can often be bought in advance on Renfe's website, which is often cheaper, while Cercanías commuter tickets are normally bought at the station. Rules and fares change, so check the ticket and the departure board for the platform (andén). Big cities such as Madrid have a metro with numbered lines and the stops (paradas) named on the map.
Latin America Note
Coger ("to take, to catch") is ordinary in Spain, but in several Latin American countries it is a rude word, so speakers there use tomar (tomar el autobús), and tomar is safe everywhere. For "ticket" many Latin American countries say boleto (or pasaje) instead of billete, and for "bus" you will hear colectivo, micro, guagua or camión depending on the country.
Grammar Pointer
Salir and the other irregular yo forms are in Spanish Grammar 2 4, ser and estar in Spanish Grammar 2 3, and commands such as coja in Spanish Grammar 3 11. Use them as a reference after this chapter.
✍️ Try It Yourself — Ejercicios
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Buy a return ticket to Madrid.
Show answer
Un billete de ida y vuelta para Madrid, por favor.
2. Ask what time the train to Seville leaves and from which platform.
Show answer
¿A qué hora sale el tren a Sevilla? ¿De qué andén sale?
3. Complete: "Yo ___ a las ocho." (salir) · "El tren ___ a las doce." (llegar) · "Nosotros ___ el autobús." (coger)
Show answer
salgo · llega · cogemos.
4. Complete with es or está: "El tren ___ directo." · "El andén ___ allí." · "El billete ___ barato."
Show answer
es · está · es. (What it is: es. Where it is: está.)
5. Ask whether this bus goes to the centre.
Show answer
¿Este autobús va al centro?
6. In Latin America, how could you say "I take the bus" without coger?
Show answer
Tomo el autobús.
🎓 Course Complete — Curso completado
You have finished Spanish Basic Conversation 1. Here is what each chapter gave you.
| Ch. | Topic | You can now… |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greetings & Goodbyes | greet, say goodbye, and choose tú or usted |
| 2 | Introducing Yourself | say your name and introduce someone |
| 3 | Numbers, Age & Contact Details | count, give your age and phone number |
| 4 | Where You're From | say your country and nationality |
| 5 | Your Family | talk about your family |
| 6 | Your Job | say what you do |
| 7 | Days, Dates & Time | say the day, the date and the time |
| 8 | Ordering at a Café | order food and drink and ask for the bill |
| 9 | Shopping & Prices | ask prices and buy things |
| 10 | Asking for Directions | ask where a place is and follow directions |
| 11 | Booking a Hotel | book a room and check in |
| 12 | Trains, Buses & Tickets | buy a ticket and get around |
What Next?
The next step is Spanish Basic Conversation 2 which builds on everything here. For a reference on the grammar behind these dialogs, see Spanish Grammar 1 and Spanish Grammar 2. ¡Buen viaje!