The Atocha Railway Station view is the perfect welcome to Madrid. Its imposing structure and incredible tropical garden are de prefect prelude to this amazing city. This beauty is not just a nice building! Atocha is the most important of the three Madrid train stations –Chamartín and Nuevos Ministerios are the other two.
At Madrid Atocha Railway Station, trains arrive from different cities around Spain, including Madrid surrounding cities such as Salamanca, Toledo and Aranjuez. Also, certain Renfe High-Speed trains, under different names regarding its final destinaton (AVE, AVANT, ALVIA and ALTARIA), are part of the routes served by this station.
©Roxanna Salceda
Address
Glorieta Carlos V, s/n. Madrid, 28045.
Opening Hours
Atocha Train Station opens from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
The information office and the ticket office open from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The advance-sales ticket office opens Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. During the weekend you can buy the tickets in the machines from 5:30 a.m. to 10:20 p.m.
Getting There
The station is located in the Atocha district in the northern side of downtown Madrid. It is well connected by bus, metro and taxi. Atocha is not only a railway station, but also a city bus and metro station. The Line 1 of Metro Madrid is connected with the station. There are also several city buses at the Intercambiador Atocha – Renfe (a zone inside the station that connects the city transport system with the train station).
If you are more likely to be driven! There is a taxi rank outside the station.
Atocha High-Speed Routes
High-speed trains from Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Cádiz, Figueres, Alicante, Algeciras, Granada, Málaga Toledo and Zaragoza arrrive and depart from Atocha train station.
Train to Toledo and Segovia
There is a high-speed train, called AVANT, connecting Toledo and Madrid almost every 30 minutes. You can either buy the tickets in advance online or buy them in the station at least 10 minutes before the departing time. The price is around 12 euros and the journey takes 35 minutes. If you are interesting on visiting Toledo, check our half-day Toledo tour, full-day Toledo tour and the day tour to El Escorial, Valley of the Fallen and Toledo.
Segovia is also connected with Madrid thanks to the high-speed train line. Trains to Segovia depart from Madrid-Chamartin station. If you are interesting on visiting Segovia, check our Avila and Segovia full-day tour.
Madrid Airport to Atocha Train Station
Madrid Barajas Airport is located 8.1 miles away from Puerta del Sol and 9.1 miles from Atocha Railway Station. Unfortunately, there is not a metro line connecting the station and the airport directly. To get to the station from the airport take line 1 to Tribunal, then line 10 to Nuevos Ministerios and then line 8 to any of the aiport terminals (T1, T2, T3 or T4). T4-S is only connected by an internal train with T4 after cthe security check point.
Also, bus number 203 goes directly from Atocha Train Station (at the Intercambiador Atocha – Renfe) to T1 Adolfo Suárez Madrid – Barajas Airport. The airport terminals are connected with a free shuttle services.
Atocha Train Station Services
The station counts with a commercial area with 40 stores and a food court next to the Tropical Garden.
Car Rental
There are also several rental car services inside the station.
Parking
Atocha Railway Station counts with a short-time parking services reachable from Glorieta del Emperador Carlos V and Avenida Ciudad de Barcelona. There is not long term parking service in the station.
Lockers
Lockers, left luggage or luggage storage is located in the Tropical Garden area. They open Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 10:20 p.m., on Saturday from 6:15 a.m. to 10:20 p.m. and on Sunday from 6:30 a.m. to 10:20 p.m. The price are from 3 to 6 euros per day depending on the size of your luggage.
History and Architecture
Atocha Train station is initially built to connect Aranjuez, the royal summer residence, with the city Madrid. The construction was under the supervision of the Marquis of Salamanca and its architect, Victor Lenoir. The assembly of this private line, considered a diversion for royalty, will not begin until 1846. The known as the Atocha Platform will not be opened until 1851. Regarding the huge growth experienced by Madrid in the 19th century, the station soon needs renovations, especially to received trains from Alicante and Zaragoza.
In 1890 the current building was started to build. Using a structure of pilasters and brick following the design done by Alberto de Palacio and Elissague and under the supervision of Alberto de Palacio, an employee of Gustave Eiffel. The station opened in 1892 was considered a masterpiece of modern architecture. Unfortunately, this building suffered constant annual changes in order to adapt it to the requirements of Madrid.
© Daderot
In 1992, Atocha Railway Station was definitely renovated following the design of Rafael Moneo. During this reform was built what is now known as the two stations of Atocha, the first one called Puerta de Atocha for the high-speed line trains and the second one called Atocha Cercanías, which connects the metro and city railway lines. Between the two stations a huge lobby was built to connect both services. It is known as the Tropical Garden.
Tropical Garden
This incredible foyer, connecting high-speed train station and the metro station in Atocha, is decorated with a beautiful garden containing 7,200 plants of 260 species from around the world. There are several restaurants and stores around the garden, comprising an amazing space full of life and liveliness.
© Daniel Smith
© Barcex
Memorial
The 11-M Memorial is a glass cylinder height of 11 meters and a diameter of 9.5 meters, located in the nearby Atocha roundabout. Inside the cylinder there are hundreds of quotes in different languages engraved. Those phrases were taken from the thousands of messages left by people who came to the station on the consecutive days of the attack, expressing its condolences and condemnation. The messages of grief are better seen from a chamber beneath the hollow monument, accessing from the Atocha Railway Staion.
The monument was inaugurated by His Majesty Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia on March 11, 2007, coinciding with the third anniversary of the attacks. This memorial remembers the price of freedom and the victims of intolerance.
