The Cercanias trains of Madrid !!

Posted in Madrid, Spain

Something nice to talk about which have briefly mentioned in previous posts but with the modernisation and changes it ought to have a post of its own, The Cercanias or commuter train service of my dear Madrid !!! My Madrid, my beloved city of many nostalgic moments and happy encounters; and of course, taken public transports there too including the cercanias trains. Therefore, let me tell you a bit more on the cercanias trains of Madrid !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I

The Madrid Cercanias or Commuter train Service is one of the most used by citizens in their day-to-day travel. According to data published by Renfe, between January and November 2023 alone, 479.4 million passengers were transported, which represents an increase of 21.4% compared to the same period of the previous year. Looking ahead to 2024, these numbers are expected to continue increase,

The Cercanías of Madrid are a commuter train network operated by the Renfe on the infrastructure of Adif (Spain national transport network). The network extends throughout the Community of Madrid ,and even goes beyond it, as it reaches cities in the autonomous communities bordering Madrid such as Toledo, Guadalajara and Segovia, It serves the majority of Madrid’s population and has more than twenty connections with the Madrid Metro (see post). The main station of the network is the Atocha-Cercanías Station, through which all lines pass except line C-9.

The operating hours of the Madrid Cercanías trains depend on each line, although approximately all of them start on a weekday between 05h and 05h30 and end around midnight. A special case is that of line C-9, Cercedilla/Cotos, which due to its purely touristic nature, operates from 09h30 to 20h30 only. All trains have public address indications and light panels or screens of the stations through which the train passes. These illuminated panels or screens also report the time and outside temperature. They also have acoustic and light warnings for door closing warnings. In all stations you can find screens and/or information panels about the trains that are stopping, and announcements are made over the public address system upon the arrival of the trains. The information may appear one or two minutes before the arrival of the train at large stations, since the assignment of the track number is made at the moment the train is arriving at the station.

The Zone A of the Madrid transports is divided into Zone 0 and Zone A for Cercanías. Zone 0 includes the Madrid stations located within the central City such as Atocha, Recoletos, Nuevos Ministerios, Chamartín, Sol, Méndez Álvaro, Delicias, Pirámides, Embajadores and Príncipe Pío. Azuqueca and Guadalajara are considered by Cercanías as stations in Zone C1 and C2, respectively. The Airport T4 is a zone B2 station for the purposes of Renfe tickets, but not for transport passes in which zones A and B1 are accepted. The price of the ticket depends on the number of areas crossed on the trip (not the distance traveled), and costs the same seven days a week.

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There are several types of tickets valid on Cercanías. Single ticket: It is a ticket valid for one person and to make a trip within two hours from its purchase. Round trip: Allows you to make a round trip and return on the same day or the next day. Its price is just double the single ticket. Bonotrén: Allows 10 trips to be made for 30 consecutive days for one or more travelers to any station within the area for which the ticket has been issued, or between the areas for which the ticket has been issued. the ticket has been taken out. Monthly pass: Allows you to make two trips a day for 30 consecutive days for a single person. Transport pass: Joint ticket of the Madrid Regional Transport Consortium, which allows unlimited trips for 30 days from the first validation for the areas for which it has been purchased throughout the Madrid transport network (suburban, bus, metro, subway light…). Tourist pass: Ticket that allows you to travel throughout the Cercanías network of Madrid (Zone A), or the entire community, Toledo, Cuenca and Guadalajara (Zone T), for a short period (from 1 to 7 days). ). University Quarterly Pass: for exclusive use for people in possession of the card that accredits them as a student of the University of Alcalá, Autonomous University of Cantoblanco, Carlos III of Madrid or University Rey Juan Carlos; or as work personnel of one of the latter two.

Cercanías is a service of Renfe on suburbian train service having 10 lines ,They connect most lines by the Atocha train station, The cercanias trains that I have used are the C1 and C10 from the Adolfo Suarez Barajas International Airport The RENFE Cercanias Lines in Madrid are :

C1 : Príncipe Pío – Atocha- Recoletos – Chamartín – Airport T4. C2 : Guadalajara-Alcalà de Henares-Atocha-Chamartin.  C3 : Aranjuez-Atocha-Sol-Chamartin.  C3a : Aranjuez – Atocha – Sol- Chamartín – El Escorial.  C4 : Parla-Atocha-Sol-Chamartin-Cantoblanco.  C4a Parla-Atocha-Sol-Chamartin-Cantoblanco-Alcobendas/San Sebastian de los Reyes.  C4b : Parla-Atocha-Sol-Chamartin-Cantoblanco-Colmenar Viejo. C5 : Mostoles El Soto-Atocha-Fuenlabrada-Humanes. C7 : Alcalà de Henares-Atocha-Chamartine-Principe Pio.  C8 : Guadalajara-Alcalà de Henares-Atocha-Chamartin-Villalba-Cercedilla. C9 : Cercedilla – Cotos. C10 : Villalba – Príncipe Pío – Atocha – Recoletos – Chamartín – Airport T4

The latest news is the reopening of the Sol tunnel, which allows the connection between the Sol and Nuevos Ministerios stations to be re-established. Lines C-3, C-4a (Parla – Alcobendas) and C-4b (Parla – Colmenar Viejo) are also restored, all in both directions. However, these changes cause the disappearance of the C-3ª line, which becomes the new C-8a. The C-3a, which connected Aranjuez with El Escorial through Sol and Chamartín. Now it has become the C-8a, a new branch of the gray line, the C-8 (Cercedilla -Guadalajara), which starts from Villalba and extends to El Escorial, with an additional link to Santa María de la Alameda.

The RENFE Cercanias Madrid train lines info : https://www.renfe.com/es/en/suburban/suburban-madrid/lines

The Madrid tourist office on Cercanias trains : https://www.esmadrid.com/en/madrid-cercanias-train

The RENFE itineraries schedules : https://www.renfe.com/es/en/travel/prepare-your-trip

The ADIF transport network Spain on Atocha-Cercanias : https://www.adif.es/w/18000-madrid-atocha-c.

There you go folks, a brief ,general overview of the Cercanias or suburbian train service of my beloved Madrid, Again, hope it helps make your visit a more enjoyable one to a great city very close to my heart, Until next time by Madrid, Saludos !!!

And remember, happy travels , good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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