Time from Madrid Airport to Atocha Train Station

It's about a 43 minute bus ride from Terminal 2--with buses often every 15 minutes.

Definitely take a taxi, it'll take 15-20 minutes. You really don't have time to take the train.

The Cercanías train takes less than 40 minutes and leaves from the airport every 15 minutes. The train obviously brings you right into the Atocha station. In theory, a cab could be faster, it also could get caught in traffic. My plane arrived early and we breezed thru customs. Are you looking at purchasing your train ticket in advance? I wouldn't. Its a tight connection to begin with and there is the potential your plane could be delayed, cancelled or any number of situations. I'm also seeing that there are other options to get to Pamploma. It might be that you may have to determine how you will get to Pamploma when you arrive. I found the airport Renfe office to be very helpful.

Yes, I DID buy my ticket to Pamplona (July 5th) in advance, and the trains are pretty much all full now. Buying in advance is why I'm now nervous about being able to get off the plane, through customs, grab our baggage, and then get to the train station in time to make the 10:35 that I have tickets for. Really don't want to miss the train and end up STUCK in Madrid (aside from eating the price of the train ticket). I've never been to Spain, so I have no idea how straightforward the Madrid airport is, and how quickly one can get through it. So, like I said, after my g/f bringing up variables (plane is late, how long does it take to get on a C1 from Terminal 1, etc.), I'm starting to freak out a little. :)
I have only 95 minutes between when the plan is scheduled to land and when the train is scheduled to depart Atocha.

I've never been to Spain, so I have no idea how straightforward the Madrid airport is, and how quickly one can get through it.

It's a big, modern airport, but how quickly you can get through it will depend mainly on how many other passengers land the same time as you, and if your flight is delayed, or arrives but has to sit and wait for the gate. None of this stuff is in your control, so focus on what you CAN control. What is your plan B if you miss your train to Pamplona?

It took us around two hours to get through customs at Madrid airport last year. Our plane arrived (from London) at 2:10pm on a Thursday.

If you can't get another train ticket have a look at a bus. We caught both ALSA and Avanza buses in Spain and both were clean, comfortable and ran on time.

We found that using the Trainline website/app allowed us to compare train and bus options.

Thank you for the tip on trainline; I was not familiar with that site.

Sooty, but I would be shocked if you made that train.

Like AussieNomad, it took 1.5 hours to clear immigration last September. Lots of other flights must have arrived around the same time. It normally takes much less time. Our flight landed just after 8am.

Like the Cercanias and bus, the metro would also take about 45 minutes and it’s a decent walk just to get to it in the terminal.

T4 is quite huge and you could walk for 15-20 mins just to reach from A -> B. Your best bet is to book a Cabify/Uber as soon as you collect your luggage and head straight to the meeting point. There are usually long queues for taking cabs and Cercanias has a possibility of getting delayed.

Just for context, from Aeropuerto -> Atocha can take you 15-20mins if you don't get caught up during rush hours.

The terminal transfer bus from T123 to T4 can take 15-20 minutes. If you do that you definitely won't make it. One option is to take the Metro two stops from T123 to T4. The metro and the Cercanias trains are parallel to each other at T4 station so it is easy to change. Your RENFE ticket might have the cercanias train journey included in the price. Just scan the QCR on your ticket at the gate.

Thanks, all! Flight got in at 9:00, and there was only one other belt with luggage on it when we went downstairs to pick up our luggage. Walked outside and promptly got a cab to Atocha, and made our 10:35 train to Pamplona with time to spare. Ran with the bulls a couple days later. I was unscathed, but a couple guys about 15 feet away were not so lucky.

Glad to hear you fortunately made your train! I was wondering how that would turn out.
If you have time after Pamplona, check out the massive Royal Palace of Olite. I’s a massive castle that is the castle-of-all-castles going back some 1,000 years.
Olite can be reached from Pamplona by 30-minute trains or 45-minute ( or so) buses.
Enjoy Spain!