Madrid Chamartin:  Location map

Madrid Chamartin - or Estación de Madrid-Chamartín Clara Campoamor to give it its full name - is Madrid's second major station, located some way north of the city centre.  It's a modern station built between 1970 & 1975, the Clara Campoamor bit was added in 2020 to honour Clara Campoamor, a key figure in the fight for female suffrage in Spain.  But everyone still calls it Madrid Chamartin.

It handles high-speed trains northwards to San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander, Gijon, Vigo, A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela, and since 2022 also high-speed trains south to Alicante.  It also handles cross-Madrid suburban trains and the occasional north-south long-distance through train.

Aerial view over Madrid Chamartin looking east from the 8th floor of the Hotel Chamartin The One.  The main station entrance is in the centre.

Main station entrance, looking north from the roadway outside.

Concourse

The concourse is above the tracks, with steps & escalators down onto each platform.  Inside the main entrance, you're on the left-hand side of the concourse.

The left-hand side of the concourse serves platforms 1-13 and features the Renfe & Iryo ticket offices, seating, various food outlets & vending machines, plus a 'Next train to...' screen on the left-hand wall showing next suburban departures to key stations including Madrid Atocha.  Due to building work only part of the original concourse is open so it can get crowded.

The right-hand side of the concourse serves platforms 14-25, a secure departures area for high-speed trains accessed through a luggage X-ray check.  It also has food outlets, seating and toilets.  A modernised extension to this high-speed departures area opened in November 2024, over new & rebuilt platforms 21-25.

Platforms

Madrid Chamartin has 25 platforms numbered 1 to 25 from left to right (west to east).

Platforms 1-13 (free access):  Platforms 1-13 are used by commuter trains (cercanias) and the occasional Media Distancia train.  During the current rebuilding work, the route for accessing these platforms may change from time to time, just follow the signs.

Platforms 14-25 (luggage-screened):  Long-distance AVE, Alvia, Iryo & Intercity trains use platforms 14-25, accessed from the right-hand half of the concourse.  Platforms 20-25 had been closed for building work, but reopened in November 2024.  You must put your bags through an X-ray scanner before accessing this half of the concourse, see the photos above.  It only takes a few minutes even at busy times, but don't cut it fine.  There's usually a ticket check for each train when boarding is called, either at the top of the escalator down to the platform, or on the platform near the foot of the escalator.  When arriving on these platforms, there are steps down to the metro from each platform. 

How to board a mainline train

High-speed trains leave from platforms 14-25, meaning AVE, Alvia, Avant, Ouigo, Avlo & Iryo.  The mainline departure screens will show your train and whether you're OK to go through luggage control into the departures area, even before the platform number is shown.

Go through luggage control:  If you walk into the main entrance and turn right you'll see a row of X-ray luggage scanners signed Luggage control.  If you're catching an AVE, Alvia, Avant, Ouigo, Avlo or Iryo train, you must put your bags through these when entering the secure departures area for platforms 14-19.  It only takes a few minutes, there are no metal detectors so it's nothing like an airport.  Security staff next to each scanner may have a metal-detecting 'wand' but on a recent trip the 'wand' was only used on me once in 8 occasions and even then it failed to find the corkscrew in my left pocket or iPhone in my right one.  It's basically security theatre.  Tip:  Put any Swiss Army knives or corkscrews in your pocket to avoid arguments if they go through the scanner.

In the departures area there are cafes, retail outlets, vending machines, seats & toilets.

Boarding & ticket check:  When a platform number finally appears against your train, typically 10-20 minutes before departure, you can go down the steps, escalator or lift to the platform and board the train.  Have your ticket ready, staff on the platform will scan the QR code as you walk towards the train.

Above, baggage control for platforms 14-19.  Below, inside the departures area for platforms 14-19.

Tickets & reservations

There is a Renfe ticket office and a Casa Iryo on the concourse, more or less straight ahead when you walk through the main entrance, next to the stairs down to platform 10.  In the photo below, the Renfe ticket office is on the left, the Iryo office on the right.  In the Renfe office there's a numbered queuing system, take a number from the pink machine just inside the door, it has a touch screen which can be switched to English.  During the current rebuilding work the ticket office may need to be relocated at times, so follow the signs.

Sala Club lounge

If you have a Premium ticket for an AVE, you can use the Sala Club lounge for up to 90 minutes before your train leaves, with complimentary tea, coffee, snacks & beer and free WiFi.  The Sala Club is inside the baggage-screened departures area next to the steps down to platform 14.  Open 06:00-22:30 Mondays-Fridays, 06:30-22:30 Saturdays, 07:00-22:30 Sundays.  You can check opening times at www.renfe.com.

Sala Club entrance, inside the baggage-screened departures area.  That's the escalator down to platform 14 on the right.

Left luggage lockers

There are currently no luggage lockers at Chamartin due to the rebuilding work.

Food & drink

There are various food outlets inside the station, and a Burger King just outside the main entrance.

There was a good waiter-service restaurant called Zielou just across the little square outside the station's main exit, see www.zielou.com, though this seems to be closed due to the building work.

I can recommend the bar & restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Hotel Chamartin The One, the food is good and not expensive, and it's away from the bustle of the station.  Walk out of the main station exit and turn right along the roadway until you see the hotel on your right.

Hotels near the station

Hotel Chamartin The One is located on the west side of the station, the aerial view of the station at the top of this page was taken from it.  It's great value and gets good reviews.  I can vouch for the restaurant and bar on the 2nd floor, too.  If you're arriving late, leaving early, or need a hotel between trains, Hotel Chamartin The One is the hotel I'd recommend.  To reach it, walk out of the main station exit and turn right along the roadway until you see the hotel on your right, you can see what the ground floor entrance looks like in the photo below left.

Getting to/from the city centre

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

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

The taxi rank is a minute or two's walk away and down one level, on the eastern side of the station on the other side of the building work affecting platforms 20+.  Just follow the signs.  Taxi fare calculator.

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

How to transfer to/from Atocha

Trains to northern Spain usually leave from Madrid Chamartin in the north of the city.  Trains south to Seville, Cadiz, Algeciras, Granada & Malaga leave from Madrid Atocha station in the south of the city, although trains to Alicante now use Chamartin.  Metro line 1 links the two stations, but it's easier and quicker to transfer by frequent suburban train, and it's free if you have a long-distance ticket.  The Spanish for suburban train is Cercanias, look for the orange and white 'C' logo.

Chamartin ► Atocha

• Step 1, buy a suburban ticket to Atocha from the self-service machines they can be switched to English.  It's one zone, the fare is around €2, the machines accept euro notes & coins.

  However, if you have an AVE, Alvia, Iryo or other long-distance train ticket, you're entitled to a free suburban journey within 4 hours of arrival or 3 hours of departure, see the Combinado Cercanias advice here.

• Step 2, look at the Next train to... screen on the left-hand wall (as you walk into the main entrance) near the Renfe ticket office to see what platform the next train to Atocha goes from.  Head for that platform. 

• Step 3, take a train to Atocha, they run  every 3-9 minutes, it's just 3 stops taking 10-15 minutes.

  It doesn't in fact matter which train you get on as long as it's a Cercanias going south, as every southbound Cercanias (suburban) train from Chamartin goes to Atocha, including routes C1, C2, C4, C7, C8 & C10.

  On arrival at Puerta de Atocha Cercanias platforms, follow the Salida (way out) signs then Grandes Lineas (main lines) signs to the mainline concourse.  The QR code on your long distance ticket will operate the ticket gates, look for a gate equipped with a glowing red barcode scanner. 

Atocha ► Chamartin

• Step 1, buy a suburban ticket to Chamartin from the self-service machines, they can be switched to English.  It's one zone, the fare is around €2, the machines accept euro notes & coins.

  However, if you have an AVE, Alvia, Iryo or other long-distance train ticket, you're entitled to a free suburban journey within 4 hours of arrival or 3 hours of departure, see the Combinado Cercanias advice here.

• Step 2, follow the signs to the Cercanias part of Madrid Atocha and go through the ticket gates.  If you have a long-distance Renfe or Iryo ticket, the ticket QR code will operate the gates, look for one of the gates with a red-glowing barcode scanner on the front.

• Step 3, all trains heading north go to Chamartin, it doesn't matter which you get on as long as it's going north.

  To keep it simple, look for a train with final destination Chamartín-Clara Campoamor).  Lines C2, C3, C10 all terminate there, so it will be shown as their destination.

  These lines also go to Chamartin:  Line C4a direction Alcobendas-San Sebastian, line 4b direction Colmenar Veijo, line C7 direction Principe Pio, C8a direction Santa Maria de la Alameda-Perguerinos, line C8b direction Cercedilla.

Double-deck suburban train to Chamartin on platform 1 at Madrid Atocha Cercanias.

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