Madrid Atocha    | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Plaza Del Emperador Carlos V,Arganzuela, 28045Madrid Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°24′24″N3°41′22″W / 40.406528°N 3.689373°W /40.406528; -3.689373 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Adif | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operated by | Renfe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | FromPuerta de Atocha:
FromAtocha–Cercanias:
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| Tracks | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Fare zone | A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 9 February 1851; 174 years ago (1851-02-09) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 110 million[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Madrid Atocha (Spanish:Estación de Madrid Atocha), also namedMadrid Puerta de Atocha–Almudena Grandes, is the oldest majorrailway station inMadrid. It is the largest station servingcommuter trains (Cercanías), regional trains from the south and southeast, intercity trains fromNavarre,Cádiz andHuelva (Andalusia) andLa Rioja, and theAVEhigh speed trains fromGirona,Tarragona andBarcelona (Catalonia),Huesca andZaragoza (Aragon),Sevilla,Córdoba,Málaga andGranada (Andalusia),Valencia,Castellón andAlicante (Levante Region). These train services are run by Spain's national rail company,Renfe. As of 2019, the station has daily service toMarseille,France.
The station is in theAtocha neighborhood of the district ofArganzuela. The original façade facesPlaza del Emperador Carlos V, a site at which a variety of streets converge, including the Calle de Atocha,Paseo del Prado, Paseo de la Infanta Isabel, Avenida de la Ciudad de Barcelona, Calle de Méndez Álvaro, Paseo de las Delicias, Paseo de Santa María de la Cabeza, andRonda de Atocha.
Atocha station is a railway complex, formed by the Madrid Atocha Cercanías and Madrid Puerta de Atocha stations of Spain's national railways and a station of the Madrid underground called Atocha-RENFE.RENFE is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains since 1941.
At this site, Madrid's first railway station was inaugurated on 9 February 1851 under the nameEstación de Mediodía (Atocha-Mediodía is now the name of an area of theArganzuela district, and meanssouth in old Spanish).
After the building was largely destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt by the MZA railway company and reopened in 1892. The architect for the replacement, in awrought iron renewal style wasAlberto de Palacio Elissagne, who collaborated withGustave Eiffel. Engineer Henry Saint James also took part in the project.[2] The name Atocha has become attached to the station because of the nearby basilica dedicated toOur Lady of Atocha. The train platforms were partly covered by a roof in the form of inverted hull with a height of approximately 27 meters and length of 157 meters. The steel and glass roof spreads between two brick flanking buildings.
This complex of railway tracks expanded through the years. In 1985, a project of complete remodeling began, based on designs byRafael Moneo. In 1992, the original building was taken out of service as a terminal, and converted into a concourse with shops, cafés, and a nightclub. Like theOrsay Museum in Paris, the concourse has been given a new function, that being in the case of Atocha a stunning 4,000 m2 (43,056 sq ft) covered tropical garden.[3]
A modern terminal was also designed byMoneo, and built in adjacent land to serve both the new High Speed trains, regional and local commuter lines. The main lines end in the new terminal; regional and commuter train platforms are located underground, at the ingress to a rail tunnel extending northward under thePaseo de la Castellana. The station is served by twoMadrid Metro stations,Estación del Arte (located near theMuseo Reina Sofía) and the Atocha Renfe metro station. The latter was added when the new terminal building was constructed and is directly linked to the railway station, providing access toLine 1. A connection toLine 11 will be constructed in the first half of the 2020s,[4] with work scheduled to begin in November 2022 for completion by the end of 2026.[5]
On 19 December 2021, the regional government of theCommunity of Madrid announced that Atocha Renfe station would be renamed "Atocha", owing to the liberalization of Spain's railway industry and the entry of new rail companies into the Spanish market.[6] The station was originally set to be renamed "Atocha-Constitución del 78" (Atocha-Constitution of '78), announced by Vice PresidentIgnacio Aguado on 16 February 2021, and proposed byCitizens (Cs), his political party,[7] but was halted after Cs lost all its seats in theAssembly of Madrid in the aftermath of the2021 Madrilenian regional election.[6] The name change, which entailed replacing signage, updating maps and modifying station announcements, took effect on 1 February 2022.[8] The following month on 3 March 2022 the Spanish central government announced a second name change to rename Puerta de Atocha after writerAlmudena Grandes, who died four months earlier,[9] with the name change taking effect on 19 November 2022.[10]
The Spanish central government approved a €500 million expansion of Puerta de Atocha station on 13 June 2023 which would entail the construction of a new four-track underground station with two through platforms for high-speed services, allowing high-speed trains to serve both Atocha andChamartín, the renovation of the existing station building and the construction of a new southern vestibule along the Calle de Méndez Álvaro.[11][12]
On 11 March 2004, packed arriving commuter trains were bombed in a series of coordinated attacks, killing 193 people and wounding 1,800. The official investigation by the Spanish Judiciary determined the attacks were directed by aIslamistterrorist cell.
On 10 June 2004, a somber and minimalistAtocha station memorial was dedicated to the victims of the attacks. The monument includes avirtual shrine. Visitors to the attacked stations can leave a hand silhouette and a message through special-purpose consoles. A second monument to this event, known as 11-M in Spain, is theBosque del Recuerdo (Forest of Remembrance) in theParque del Buen Retiro near Atocha. This monument is made up of 192 olive and cypress trees, one for each person who died on that day, with a tree also planted in remembrance of the police officer, who died on 3 April 2004. He died as a result of a suicide bomb during the attempt to capture a number of the perpetrators, four of whom were killed by the bomb. Initially inaugurated as theBosque de los Ausentes (Forest of the Departed)[13] the site was renamed on the first anniversary of the devastating attack. The forest is surrounded by a stream, with water as a symbol of life.
| Preceding station |  Renfe Operadora | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Altaria | Alcázar de San Juan towardsMurcia del Carmen | ||
| Alcázar de San Juan towardsCartagena | ||||
| Madrid Chamartín Terminus | Talgo | Alcázar de San Juan towardsAlmería | ||
| Nuevos Ministerios towardsMadrid Chamartín | Intercity | Alcázar de San Juan towardsValencia Nord | ||
| Madrid Chamartín Terminus | Intercity | Aranjuez towardsÁguilas | ||
| Leganés towardsBadajoz | ||||
| Terminus | Leganés towardsZafra | |||
| Leganés towardsHuelva | ||||
| Media Distancia 48 | Villaverde Bajo towardsValencia Nord | |||
| Media Distancia 51 | Madrid Chamartín towardsÁvila | |||
| Media Distancia 52 | Leganés towardsBadajoz | |||
| Media Distancia 53 | Recoletos towardsSegovia | |||
| Madrid Chamartín Terminus | Media Distancia 57 | Aranjuez towardsAlbacete-Los Llanos | ||
| Media Distancia 58 | Aranjuez towardsJaén | |||
| Terminus | Media Distancia 60 | Aranjuez towardsBadajoz | ||
| Preceding station | Cercanías Madrid | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recoletos towardsAeropuerto T4 | C-1 | Méndez Álvaro towardsPríncipe Pío | ||
| Recoletos towardsChamartín | C-2 | Asamblea de Madrid-Entrevías towardsGuadalajara | ||
| Sol towardsChamartín | C-3 | Villaverde Bajo towardsAranjuez | ||
| Sol towardsSanta María de la Alameda | C-3a | |||
| Sol | C-4 | Villaverde Bajo towardsParla | ||
| Embajadores towardsMóstoles-El Soto | C-5 | Méndez Álvaro towardsHumanes | ||
| Recoletos towardsPríncipe Pío | C-7 | Asamblea de Madrid-Entrevías towardsAlcalá de Henares | ||
| Recoletos towardsCercedilla | C-8 | Asamblea de Madrid-Entrevías towardsGuadalajara | ||
| Recoletos towardsAeropuerto T4 | C-10 | Méndez Álvaro towardsVillalba | ||
| Stations |
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