Six lines of the Madrid commuter rail network and Medium Distance trains are experiencing delays early this Wednesday due to an infrastructure incident at Atocha station. The breakdown occurred at 2:55 AM this Wednesday and has already been resolved, almost seven hours later, according to Adif; but hundreds of passengers are still suffering the consequences during rush hour.
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Those who hastily get off the train at Atocha disappear just as quickly down the corridor, with the stress of someone running late for their commitments. Others directly abandon hope of transferring at the historic station and resign themselves to choosing other means of transport. Raquel Viejo heads to catch the metro. This university student came on line C-5 towards Fuenlabrada first thing in the morning, as she does every morning, without having found out about the delays that had been registered on the railway network since dawn. “I took the C-5 in Alcorcón and it was fine, it passed on time and didn’t stop throughout the journey,” she explains. The problem came during the transfer at Atocha: “Since I arrived, at 8:10, no Renfe train has passed in the direction of Cantoblanco Universidad, neither the C4A nor the B, and I’ve been waiting for 45 minutes,” she protests, before starting a run towards the metro.
Specifically, the incident affects lines C2, C3, C4, C7, C8 and C10 of the Madrid commuter rail network, as detailed by Adif in a message published on the social network ‘X’. Several lines have had to modify their routes.
Trains on line C4 originating from Parla are only running as far as Villaverde Alto; and those on C4a starting in Alcobendas-San Sebastián de los Reyes end in Chamartín. Likewise, trains on line C4b starting in Colmenar Viejo reach Atocha Cercanías, while line C7 is running diverted via O’Donnell.
⚠️Due to an infrastructure incident in Atocha, trains on lines C2, C3, C4, C7, C8 and C10 of the Madrid commuter rail network are experiencing delays.
👷♂️Work is underway to resolve it as soon as possible.— INFOAdif (@InfoAdif) April 22, 2026
This morning is proving especially difficult for Álvaro Muisyo, who comes from Aranjuez. “I’ve been on the train for almost two hours,” protests this young man, who has taken more than double the usual time —about 50 minutes— for his journey to the capital. “The train was lurching, we stopped in Getafe industrial, in El Casar, in San Cristóbal Industrial, in San Cristóbal de Los Ángeles, in Villaverde Bajo and now a little before reaching Atocha,” he recounts.
The scene is unusual: a throng of passengers crowds simultaneously onto the 10 platforms of Puerta de Atocha-Almudena Grandes station. The convoys arriving sporadically at the platforms and those departing appear packed, with dozens of people standing. Commuter trains, when there are no breakdowns, run with frequencies not exceeding 10 minutes during rush hour. But today those times have been extended. A mechanical voice announces through the loudspeakers that, due to an incident, delays are occurring on the commuter lines which, in some cases, can exceed two hours.
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