You can buy just the reservation from Rail Europe. Go here:
http://www.raileurop…

Enter your pass type, class, destination, and date, then select the train you want from the options they give you. The Barcelona-Madrid reservation is $15. It says “fare” and when you look at your shopping cart it says “Reservation Included” and makes it sound like you’re buying the ticket and reservation, but you’re only buying the reservation. A ticket on that route costs a lot more than $15.

Yes, you can buy your reservations from raileurope, or almost any other travel agent that specializes in European rail travel, but my advice is “don’t.” With inflated prices, handling fees and shipping costs (only reservations in France are available as e-tickets) you’ll pay at least twice and often three times what reservations cost if you buy them at the train station in Europe. Unless you absolutely need to take a specific train the day you arrive in Europe, I would not buy the reservation before you got there — certainly not for an April trip unless you’re trying to get to Rome or Seville for Holy Week.

Trains almost never sell out and there are usually other options to choose within an hour or two if one does sell out. Further, 1st class (which I assume from “saver pass”) is even less likely to be full. The majority of the 20,000 daily trains in Europe don’t require reservations, but the tiny fraction of them listed in the schedule that came with your railpass usually do. I only buy a reservation if the specific train requires one.

What date are you going to be traveling Barcelona to Madrid? Those trains can fill up well in advance during summer and for holiday weekends, so if it’s Easter weekend do not wait until you get there. Otherwise, you should be ok in April.

Thanks, guys. That was very enlightening. I just did not have any idea as to how busy the trains are in Europe. I was thinking of a gazillion tourists all flocking at the train stations so i thought an early reservation might be needed.

Is April in Europe not that busy yet?

@ Augustin25, I will be going to Madrid from Barcelona on the 5th of April.

April is not too busy in terms of tourists. Barcelona to Madrid and some other popular routes in Spain often have to be booked days in advance during summer.

You’ll be traveling the Monday after Easter, so trains could get crowded. A few trains on Sunday the 4th are sold out of club class (three classes on this train, a 1st class pass puts you in preferente class) and one train on Monday the 5th is sold out of tourist class already. If you want to be certain of getting on the exact train you want I’d consider booking this reservation with Rail Europe since it looks like they have free shipping right now. As Oldlady said, it typically does cost more to book with Rail Europe than buying the reservation in Europe. Strangely enough, the Eurail site says the reservation costs 23.50 euros, making it cheaper to buy from Rail Europe, so maybe double-check with Rail Europe:
http://www.eurail.co…

According to this site you can make a reservation on the Italian rail site for your other trip:
http://www.seat61.co…

Here’s the relevant part, since it’s a long webpage:
“In advance, using train operator websites: Unfortunately, train operator websites usually only sell complete tickets and don’t allow railpass holders to make ‘reservation only’ bookings. The useful exceptions are the German railways website www.bahn.de (for trains to, from & within Germany, also sleeper trains from Amsterdam to Prague/Copenhagen/Zurich/Munich, and Paris to Berlin/Munich) and the Italian railways website www.trenitalia.com (though this has trouble accepting many non-Italian credit cards, see here). In both cases, use the journey planner as if you were going to buy a ticket. On bahn.de you’re then given the option to make your booking ‘reservation only’. On Trenitalia.com, select a train, then change the drop down fare box to ‘other fares’ then ‘Global pass’. As you pay the ticket office price with no fees or postage, this is the best way to make a reservation if you can.”

How busy are the trains during May? I’ll be traveling all over western europe. I have a 1st Class global pass. Do you think I’ll need to make many reservations? I was planning on making reservations when I got into a city for the trip out at around 2 to 3 days in advance. Do you think I’ll have any problems?

For many routes 2 or 3 days in advance is fine. Barcelona-Madrid is one route I’d try to book a little earlier. It’s not always so bad, but twice when I’ve tried to book in June & July trains were full two and three days ahead, respectively. Last summer I tried to book Alicante to Madrid and trains were full two days ahead. I’m not sure what it will be like in late May for you; if you’re worried just book in Cannes or Carcassonne to give yourself a few more days advance.