tml, Passports have had machine-readable text for ages. Still, whoever designed #Renfe’s over-the-counter ticket sales IT system didn’t think of including a suitable reader. (Don’t know about the self-service ticket machines.) Even if Renfe, like all long distance travel companies in Spain, requires the passport or ID card number of each passenger. (Which then is, I assume, extremely rarely checked, but hey, SECURITY!!!)