Madrid Chamartin:  Click for station plan & location map...

Madrid Chamartin - or to give it its full name since 2020, Estación de Madrid-Chamartín Clara Campoamor, is Madrid's second major station.  It's located a fair way north of the city centre, and handles high-speed trains northwards to San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander, Vigo, A Coruna and Santiago de Compostela.  There are tracks south to Madrid Atocha station & beyond, these handle suburban trains and the occasional north-south long-distance through train.  From August 2022 onwards it will also handle some high-speed trains between Madrid & Alicante.

Madrid Chamartin is a modern station, built between 1970 & 1975.  It had the Clara Campoamor bit added in 2020 to honour Clara Campoamor, a key figure in the fight for female suffrage in Spain.  Needless to say, everyone still calls it Madrid Chamartin.

View over Madrid Chamartin looking north from the nearby Hotel Chamartin The One.  Courtesy DiscoverByRail.com.

Main entrance, looking north from the taxi rank.  Photo courtesy of Philip Dyer-Perry.

Concourse & departures board.  The concourse is directly above the tracks and covers a fairly wide area.  It includes various retail & food outlets.  Photo courtesy of Philip Dyer-Perry.

Long-distance ticket counters, through the glass doors visible in the previous photo.  Courtesy of DiscoverByRail.com

Security to access high-speed trains:  Between the main concourse and the escalators down to the platforms used by high-speed trains, there's a simple baggage X-ray check.  There is no security check to access the suburban (Cercanias) platforms.  Courtesy of DiscoverByRail.com.

Which platform?

• The main station concourse is located above the tracks.  There are steps & escalators down onto each platform.

• Madrid Chamartin has 21 platforms, numbered west to east.

• Long-distance trains use platforms 6, 7 and 12-21.  You must go through a brief luggage X-ray security check before accessing these platforms, quicker and simpler than at an airport, but don't arrive with seconds to spare, allow time for this.

• The other platforms are used by commuter trains (cercanias), there are ticket gates to go through to access most of these platforms.

Media Distancia train at a platform at Madrid Chamartin, looking south.  You can see the station building above the tracks in the background.  Photo courtesy of Philip Dyer-Perry.

The Sala Club 1st class lounge...

• Anyone with a Premium ticket can use the Sala Club 1st class lounge.  You cannot use the lounge with an Elige ticket.

• The Sala Club at Madrid Chamartin is open 06:00-22:30 Mondays-Fridays, 06:30-22:30 Saturdays, 07:00-22:30 Sundays, with complimentary tea, coffee, snacks & beer as well as free WiFi.  It's just off the main concourse, look for the signs.

Left luggage lockers...

• There are luggage lockers (Consigna in Spanish), see the left luggage page for opening hours & prices.  Bags are X-rayed just inside the entrance before being deposited.

Food & drink...

• There are various food outlets, and a Burger King.  If you find a decent restaurant or bar near the station, let me know!

Hotels near the station...

• Hotel Chamartin The One is located right at the station (the station overview photo at the top of this page was taken from it) and gets good reviews.  The station isn't centrally located, but if you arriving late, leaving early, or need a hotel for one night between trains, this is the most convenient hotel, and it gets decent reviews.

To or from central Madrid...

Walking...

• Chamartin is quite a way north of Madrid city centre.  It's 5.6 km from Chamartin to the Puerta del Sol in the heart of Madrid, it would take 1h10 to walk.  I recommend taking either the metro, or a Cercanias suburban train, or a taxi.

Metro:  www.metromadrid.es...

• Madrid's modern air-conditioned metro links Madrid Chamartin with all parts of Madrid, see www.metromadrid.es.

• Metro line 1 (coloured light blue on maps) connects Chamartin metro station with Sol (the Puerta del Sol in the heart of central Madrid) and Atocha (for Renfe trains to the south). 

• Buy a ticket from the touch-screen machines in the metro station (they have an English-language facility) and hop on the next train.

Taxi:  Taxi fare calculator

• There's a taxi rank outside the main exit from the concourse.

• A taxi from Chamartin to Puerta del Sol costs around €25, to Madrid Atocha station around €21.

How to transfer between Madrid Chamartin & Madrid Atocha...

Trains to and from northern Spain usually use Madrid Chamartin station in the north of the city.  Trains south to Seville, Granada, Malaga leave from Madrid Atocha station.  Metro line 1 links these two stations, but it's easier and faster to transfer between stations by frequent suburban train as this is just a handful of stops.  The Spanish for suburban train is Cercanias, look for the orange and white 'C' logo.

Madrid Chamartin ► Madrid Atocha

• You can buy a suburban ticket to Atocha from the self-service machines which have an English language facility.  The fare is around €1.70, the machines accept euro notes & coins.  If you have an AVE or other long-distance train ticket, you may get a suburban ticket free, see the advice here.

• Go to platform 8.  Trains from this platform all go to Atocha, leaving every 5-10 minutes.  The journey is 3 stops and it takes just 10-15 minutes.

• On arrival at Puerta de Atocha Cercanias platforms, follow the Salida (Way out) then Grandes Lineas (Main Line Trains) signs to the mainline concourse.  For departures, take the escalators one floor up.  Your luggage will be X-rayed before access to the departure area.  When your train is ready for boarding you descend via a travelator to the platform to board your train.  Note that a handful of mainline trains start at Chamartin and call at Atocha suburban platforms (Atocha Cercanias) rather than starting from Atocha's terminal platforms like other mainline trains.

• If you have a Premium-fare Comfort class ticket you can use the Sala Club 1st class lounge at Madrid Atocha station just off the first floor departure area (turn right after going through the luggage X-ray check, walk along a bit, then the door it's on your right).  In the Sala Club you'll find a quiet, civilised and relaxing lounge in which to wait, with complimentary tea, coffee, juices and free beer.  It's open 06:00-22:00 Mondays-Saturday, 06:30-22:00 Sundays.

Madrid Atocha ► Madrid Chamartin

• You can buy a suburban ticket to Chamartin from the self-service machines which have an English language facility.  The fare is only around €1.70, the machines accept euro notes & coins.  If you have an AVE or other long-distance train ticket you may get a suburban ticket free, see the advice here.

• Go to platforms 1 & 2.  Trains from these platforms all go to Chamartin, every 5-10 minutes.  The journey is 3 stops and it takes just 10-15 minutes.

• If you have a Premium-fare Comfort class ticket you can use the Sala Club 1st class lounge at Madrid Chamartin station, through a poorly marked door next to platform 14.  In the Sala Club you'll find a quiet, civilised and relaxing place to wait, with complimentary tea, coffee, juices and free beer.  It's open 06:00-22:45 Mon-Fri, 06:10-22:45 Sat, 07:10-22:45 Sun.

An air-conditioned suburban train (Cercanias) at Madrid Chamartin.  Courtesy of DiscoverByRail.com.