Future Chamartín train station, an essential element for the future of Madrid

Chamartín train station will be one of the most modern in Europe.

The railway complex will be the region’s mobility hub, helping position the capital of Spain at the European level.

The future Chamartín train station, which will be created due to the impetus of the Madrid Nuevo Norte urban development project, is called to become one of the most modern in Europe and a cornerstone for the future of the city. The renovation covers several highly complex actions, including upgrading and expanding the number of rail tracks and construction of a new building.

A major focus of this renovation is to make the Chamartín railway complex the main hub for future high-speed lines to the north of the country (Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Basque region and Burgos) and for existing ones between Madrid and the Levante (Cuenca, Albacete, Valencia, Alicante and Murcia), which currently depart from Atocha train station. The remarkable increase in traffic that this reform will bring, together with the future presence of new passenger rail operators, scheduled for December 2020, has pushed Adif into implementing an ambitious work plan “to make Chamartín a train station capable of handling this increase in both traffic and passengers, while improving the quality of service provided to travellers and users of the station”.

A major strategic action of this plan will be to increase the number of high-speed rail tracks at Chamartín train station, from six tracks and three high-speed platforms to eighteen tracks and nine platforms. The first phase of this intervention is expected to be tendered in the first half of next year.

A new icon for the city

The new Chamartín railway complex will be the cornerstone of Madrid’s urban development, with a meaningful impact on the new layout of the north of the capital. It will become the main mobility hub in the region, playing a decisive role in positioning Madrid at the European level.

As for the future station building, Adif will launch an international tender to find a way to provide “a comprehensive image of the whole complex and a state-of-the-art architectural solution that measures up to the relevance of the initiative in terms of functionality, sustainability, design, urban integration and accessibility”.

The railway operator has confirmed that the technical ToR of this tender is “well advanced” and the jury will select “the most appropriate and capable multidisciplinary team of professionals possible”. Once the winner has been selected, the Ministry of Public Works and Adif will push ahead the processing of the Partial Internal Reform Plan, a public initiative, and draft the station’s renovation construction projects.

New Atocha-Chamartín tunnel

The Chamartín train station project will be complemented with a new underground, high-speed terminal at Puerta de Atocha train station. A new tunnel that will allow the high-speed trains to circulate between both terminals will connect both stations, to the north and south of the capital. The tunnel, which is currently in the test phase, will soon be brought into service. This infrastructure will be a major backbone in the development of high-speed rail in our country, enabling direct connection without transfers between the AVE trains coming from -or going to- the north and northwest of Spain with those coming from or going to the south, east and northeast, which are currently not interconnected.