Madrid City Guide - Getting There By Rail

The national Spanish railway network is operated by RENFE (tel: 902 240 202; website: www.renfe.es). Madrid has two main railway stations - Estación de Chamartín (Chamartín Station), Calle Agustín de Foxá, in northern Madrid, and Estación de Atocha (Atocha Station), close to Paseo del Prado, at Avenida Ciudad de Barcelona, in southern Madrid. Both stations have exchange facilities, including cafés and car hire on or near the premises. Chamartín also has a post office, tourist information, hotel reservation centre, InterCity Club Room and a large shopping centre.

Mainline services in Spain are reliable and efficient. It is essential for travellers to book ahead for long-distance trains. Tickets are available for purchase online, from stations or from travel agents. RENFE also offers a national telephone information and ticket sales service.

RENFE also operates the Cercanías, the suburban network connecting outlying towns beyond the metro (see Public Transport). Trains are frequent and reliable and there is less overcrowding than on the metro. Atocha Station is the hub of the Cercanías suburban rail network.

Rail services: Madrid's rail network includes services to provincial capitals in Spain and connections to the European railway network. Chamartín Station serves trains from France and northern Spain, including Bilbao (journey time - 6 hours) and Oviedo (journey time - 6 hours). Atocha is Madrid's largest station, serving trains from the regions of Andalusia, Extremadura and Portugal, including Malaga (journey time - 5 hours) and Valencia (journey time - 3 hours 30 minutes). Many trains stop at both Atocha Station and Chamartín Station. Atocha is the arrival and departure point for AVE, the high-speed Madrid-Seville service calling at Córdoba (journey time - about 3 hours) and the high-speed Madrid-Barcelona service (journey time - 2 hours 40 minutes).