Construction at Madrid-Chamartin train station

Madrid-Chamartin-Clara Campoamor train station has been a mess now at least for a couple years. They are expanding it and the finished project will put the entire station underground. The remodel is going to take a total of six years to complete at the cost of €1 Billion.
Give yourselves extra, extra time to get to your train if departing from this train station.

Yes, it was confusing. I was there Tuesday. At the airport, the Renfe representative told me to go to Track 2 for Atocha (I arrived Track 7 or 8). Google Maps said Track 10. I finally asked someone and yes, it was Track 2. I will be back there tomorrow and we’ll see…… Based on my one other experience a few years ago, I feel like there’s a whole big area I never saw.

I think your best advice is to include plenty of time to orientate and find where you need to go. They are doing a good job with signage, but it is changing regularly as station parts close and reopen as construction proceeds. For example, I arrived there yesterday on a fast train and was foolishly confident that I knew where I needed to go for a commuter train based on my visit in March. But, they've now opened a whole new exit route from some platforms to the taxi rank and I actually exited on the wrong side of the station and had to walk 10 minutes back through another route to get to where I wanted to be!

We were through a few weeks ago, they had decent signage and people directing traffic, but it was a mess. Just getting from the train to the Metro station seemed to take forever, passageways set up through the construction, but eventually getting there.

Ugh. Don’t like to hear all that.

I am arriving in Madrid airport and have to get to Chamartin for a train to San Sebastián all on the morning of 23/6. Any more advice anyone can give besides what has been already posted specific to my
situation? Thank you.

Maybe someone else has better advice or a different experience. I arrived from the airport at a really nice new hall, which was either the media distance or long distance section. Then I took one of those trains on to Atocha.

I came back a few days later: Atocha to Chamartin via the Cernanias and was not in the same hall at all. I exited and spent the night. Then the next day I went back to the Cercanias hall to take the train to the airport.

So all I know there seems to be two different halls (and signs indicated that). You need to know your train number to San Sebastian and whether your train is media distance or long distance.

And this may be all wrong!

Thanks Texas

When you arrive from the airport you'll be in the Cercanias part of the station. For your train to San Sebastian follow the blue arrow signs labelled "Alta Velocidad" to get to that part of the station. Allow at least 10 minutes to walk between them. When you arrive at the Alta Velocidad part, don't hang around outside if your train is in the next hour. Enter the station, go through baggage security and wait inside that terminal.