Madrid Airport to Chamartin Station

If you're leaving from Terminal 4, the C1 Cercanias train might be about as fast as a taxi.

There are great Youtube videos about this ... Tony Galvas's channel is great! ROAD TRIP Spain and Portugal

Thank you Jenn, plan to check it out.

Going to be very tight, plan lands at 8:15, train leaves Chamartin at 10:15.

Depending on the time of day, the C1 train may be better than a taxi. It is a
bit of a walk to the train station in the airport, and it will be the luck of the draw
as to how long you have to wait for a train.

Also, if you opt for Cercanias and you haven't done it before, the Metro and
Cercanias are both in the same area; the Metro does not get you to Chamartin
directly and is a different ticket, so don't get on the wrong train.

If you have carryon bags and don't have to clear immigration, I think it is doable.

Note that if you already have a Renfe ticket in hand, the Cercanias part of the
trip is free. Just scan your ticket code at the turnstile and it should let you in.

Thank you for the good information. Anxious regarding this situation. My daughter flew JFK Madrid like we are doing last month and she said takeoff to touchdown was 6 hours instead of the 7 she was expecting. Hoping for that too so I have 3 hours instead of 2, which might not be doable I’m afraid.

That is a very tight timescale. Where are you coming from and what is your nationality. If you are arriving at T4S you need extra time to get to the main T4 terminal where transport to Chamartin leaves from. And passport control will be longer if you cannot use the EU gates. In addition T4 and T4S are large so involve a lot of walking.
Plus at the other end, Charmatin rebuilding can mean extended walking between platforms.
The Cercanias train only takes 15 mins, but they only run every 20 or so minutes, so you could have a problem.
I'd see what time you are out of the airport. If you have an hour left then use the train. Any less, and I'd take a taxi.
Obviously, I'm just guessing it is T4/T4S - if not, ignore me.

I don’t know terminal yet, but thank you for that info. My instincts tell me head for the taxi stand ASAP once through security.

I now need to look into locations of these areas at the airport.

Thank you again!

Good luck with that connection. In 2023 it took us 1.5 hours to clear immigration. It took less time in 2024.

I have done this. I had no trouble getting a taxi at the taxi stand. It did take about 20 minutes to get from the airport to train station - I did have carry-on bags only. That said I don't remember if I did it with a 2-hour time frame between landing and train departure. I think I had a little more time.

Can you change your train ticket to something more flexible and/or is there another train in case you miss it?