# Madrid Atocha railway station

Madrid Atocha (Spanish: Estación de Madrid Atocha), also named Madrid Puerta de Atocha–Almudena Grandes, is the oldest major railway station in Madrid. It is the largest station serving commuter trains (Cercanías), regional trains from the south and southeast, intercity trains from Navarre, Cádiz and Huelva (Andalusia) and La Rioja, and the AVE high speed trains from Girona, Tarragona and Barcelona (Catalonia), Huesca and Zaragoza (Aragon), Sevilla, Córdoba, Málaga and Granada (Andalusia), Valencia, Castellón and Alicante (Levante Region). These train services are run by Spain's national rail company, Renfe. As of 2019, the station has daily service to Marseille, France.

## Overview

The station is in the Atocha neighborhood of the district of Arganzuela. The original façade faces Plaza 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, and Ronda 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.

## History

At this site, Madrid's first railway station was inaugurated on 9 February 1851 under the name Estación de Mediodía (Atocha-Mediodía is now the name of an area of the Arganzuela district, and means south 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 a wrought iron renewal style was Alberto de Palacio Elissagne, who collaborated with Gustave Eiffel. Engineer Henry Saint James also took part in the project. The name Atocha has become attached to the station because of the nearby basilica dedicated to Our 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 by Rafael 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 the Orsay Museum in Paris, the concourse has been given a new function, that being in the case of Atocha a stunning 4,000 m$^2$ (43,056 sq ft) covered tropical garden.
A modern terminal was also designed by Moneo, 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 the Paseo de la Castellana. The station is served by two Madrid Metro stations, Estación del Arte (located near the Museo 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 to Line 1. A connection to Line 11 will be constructed in the first half of the 2020s, with work scheduled to begin in November 2022 for completion by the end of 2026.
On 19 December 2021, the regional government of the Community 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. The station was originally set to be renamed "Atocha-Constitución del 78" (Atocha-Constitution of '78), announced by Vice President Ignacio Aguado on 16 February 2021, and proposed by Citizens (Cs), his political party, but was halted after Cs lost all its seats in the Assembly of Madrid in the aftermath of the 2021 Madrilenian regional election. The name change, which entailed replacing signage, updating maps and modifying station announcements, took effect on 1 February 2022. The following month on 3 March 2022 the Spanish central government announced a second name change to rename Puerta de Atocha after writer Almudena Grandes, who died four months earlier, with the name change taking effect on 19 November 2022.
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 and Chamartín, the renovation of the existing station building and the construction of a new southern vestibule along the Calle de Méndez Álvaro.

## 2004 Madrid train bombings

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 a Islamist terrorist cell.

## Memorials to the 2004 attacks

On 10 June 2004, a somber and minimalist Atocha station memorial was dedicated to the victims of the attacks. The monument includes a virtual 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 the Bosque del Recuerdo (Forest of Remembrance) in the Parque 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 the Bosque de los Ausentes (Forest of the Departed) 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.

## Services
### Trains from Puerta de Atocha

| Preceding station | Renfe Operadora | Following station |
| Terminus | AVE | Ciudad Realtowards Seville-Santa Justa |
| Terminus | AVE | Ciudad Realtowards Málaga María Zambrano |
| Terminus | AVE | Cuenca–Fernando Zóbeltowards Castellón de la Plana |
| Terminus | AVE | Cuenca–Fernando Zóbeltowards Murcia del Carmen |
| Terminus | AVE | Guadalajara–Yebestowards Barcelona Sants |
| Terminus | AVE | Guadalajara–Yebestowards Figueres-Vilafant |
| Terminus | AVE | Guadalajara–Yebestowards Huesca |
| Terminus | AVE | Barcelona Santstowards Marseille-St-Charles |
| Terminus | Avlo | Barcelona SantsTerminus |
| Terminus | Avlo | Zaragoza Deliciastowards Barcelona Sants |
| Terminus | Avlo | Guadalajara–Yebestowards Figueres-Vilafant |
| Terminus | Alvia | Ciudad Realtowards Cádiz |
| Terminus | Alvia | Córdobatowards Huelva Término |
| Terminus | Alvia | Albacete-Los Llanostowards Valencia-Joaquín Sorolla |
| Terminus | Alvia | Guadalajara–Yebestowards Logroño |
| Terminus | Alvia | Guadalajara–Yebestowards Pamplona |
| Terminus | Alvia | Cuenca–Fernando Zóbeltowards Vinaròs |
| Madrid Chamartíntowards Gijón | Alvia | Cuenca–Fernando Zóbeltowards Alicante |
| Madrid Chamartíntowards A Coruña | Alvia | Cuenca–Fernando Zóbeltowards Alicante |
| Madrid Chamartíntowards Pontevedra | Alvia | Cuenca–Fernando Zóbeltowards Alicante |
| Madrid Chamartíntowards Santander | Alvia | Cuenca–Fernando Zóbeltowards Alicante |
| Madrid Chamartíntowards Gijón | Alvia | Ciudad Realtowards Cádiz |
| Madrid Chamartíntowards Santander | Alvia | Ciudad Realtowards Cádiz |
| Madrid Chamartíntowards Gijón | Alvia | Ciudad Realtowards Oropesa del Mar |
| Terminus | Altaria | Ciudad Realtowards Algeciras |
| Terminus | Intercity | Cuenca-Fernando Zóbeltowards Vinaròs |
| Terminus | Intercity | Cuenca-Fernando Zóbeltowards Gandía |
| Terminus | Avant85 | Ciudad Realtowards Puertollano |
| Terminus | Avant87 | ToledoTerminus |

### Trains from Atocha–Cercanías

| Preceding station | Renfe Operadora | Following station |
| Terminus | Altaria | Alcázar de San Juantowards Murcia del Carmen |
| Terminus | Altaria | Alcázar de San Juantowards Cartagena |
| Madrid ChamartínTerminus | Talgo | Alcázar de San Juantowards Almería |
| Nuevos Ministeriostowards Madrid Chamartín | Intercity | Alcázar de San Juantowards Valencia Nord |
| Madrid ChamartínTerminus | Intercity | Aranjueztowards Águilas |
| Madrid ChamartínTerminus | Intercity | Leganéstowards Badajoz |
| Terminus | Intercity | Leganéstowards Zafra |
| Terminus | Intercity | Leganéstowards Huelva |
| Terminus | Media Distancia48 | Villaverde Bajotowards Valencia Nord |
| Terminus | Media Distancia51 | Madrid Chamartíntowards Ávila |
| Terminus | Media Distancia52 | Leganéstowards Badajoz |
| Terminus | Media Distancia53 | Recoletostowards Segovia |
| Madrid ChamartínTerminus | Media Distancia57 | Aranjueztowards Albacete-Los Llanos |
| Madrid ChamartínTerminus | Media Distancia58 | Aranjueztowards Jaén |
| Terminus | Media Distancia60 | Aranjueztowards Badajoz |

### Suburban trains

| Preceding station | Cercanías Madrid | Following station |
| Recoletostowards Aeropuerto T4 | C-1 | Méndez Álvarotowards Príncipe Pío |
| Recoletostowards Chamartín | C-2 | Asamblea de Madrid-Entrevíastowards Guadalajara |
| Soltowards Chamartín | C-3 | Villaverde Bajotowards Aranjuez |
| Soltowards Santa María de la Alameda | C-3a | Villaverde Bajotowards Aranjuez |
| Soltowards Alcobendas-San Sebastián de los Reyes or Colmenar Viejo | C-4 | Villaverde Bajotowards Parla |
| Embajadorestowards Móstoles-El Soto | C-5 | Méndez Álvarotowards Humanes |
| Recoletostowards Príncipe Pío | C-7 | Asamblea de Madrid-Entrevíastowards Alcalá de Henares |
| Recoletostowards Cercedilla | C-8 | Asamblea de Madrid-Entrevíastowards Guadalajara |
| Recoletostowards Aeropuerto T4 | C-10 | Méndez Álvarotowards Villalba |