This may in fact explain your previous experience. In the old-style collegial idea of ´we all work together in the same branch of transport´ they thus also assume that YOUR employer knows it all, is there to inform you etc.
It looks to me that this forum has taken over that job in many respects.
Unfortunately, it's sort of the opposite. The railway company issues FIP cards and vouchers for its workers but does not provide documentation on
how to use them, compared to RDG.
Most know-how about FIP comes from word-of-mouth from worker to worker, and some come with experiences from 10/20 years ago that may or flat-out
will not hold up ground today.
On my way to and from Berlin, no one gave a flying flamingo about my company card, I never used my FIP card, the German coupon was only punched once, and the Spanish coupon had to be marked with a date only once.
I finished the journey with almost all 8 days of free travel in every country available for use up until the end of December, which I still find to be odd. But I can't complain.
I assume your FIP also cost you- I dk how much-little or more, and it may very well be that a cheap advacne booked ticket works out cheaper or same-same as FIP+surcharge for REServ etc. in HSpeed trains.
I was given coupons for the days and countries I was traveling, free of charge.
The only catch is that an employee needs to work for CP - Comboios de Portugal for more than 12 months under an open-ended contract (I worked for three years because my first two years were under a fixed-term contract).
Not counting the 1st class reservation on the TGV from Paris to Barcelona, and having to cancel my non-refundable European Sleeper reservation, the journey was incredibly affordable.
The only thing that I learned is that FIPs are better used with an
as-you-go approach over a planned approach, unless you're using it for short, single trips, like in my case this year.
BTW-indeed you seem to have rightly discovered that doing Bcn-Mad-Lis by rail is for the latter part a real PITA for now-as is in general anything doing with SPanish RENFE in these matters.
The main issue with Spain is just how little capacity there is. It's so bad even Regional trains have mandatory seat reservations and the most demanded routes are fully booked months in advance.
FIP reservations with Renfe
can be issued in advance, but you need to physically be in Spain to make them.
The easiest and cheapest way for someone from CP - Comboios de Portugal to book FIP reservations for Renfe is to go on a Saturday to Badajoz for a meal and take the time between the arrival and departure of the Portuguese Regional to book the reservations you need for a later date (in my case, from and to Vigo-Urzaíz). The only reservation that can be issued in advance in Portugal is for the Celta Porto-Vigo.
Back in the good old days, you could book tickets for any UIC member from Porto-Campanhã, but that was before the EU decided railways were better if they worked under competition rather than under cooperation.
