Entrance to the train bays is located in the first floor. The long distance trains can be boarded from the second floor of the station.
The check-in and boarding procedures are similar to those in airports.
The station lounge is spacious and has information counters managed by English-speaking attendants.
The departure and other display boards are in both Spanish and English.
In October 2009, the European Investment Bank agreed to provide €5bn to develop high-speed rail networks in Spain. Expansion of the Madrid Atocha Station is one of the projects covered in the agreement. Also, a high-speed tunnel will be built between the Atocha and the Chamartin stations.
Atocha station memorial
A series of bomb blasts took place in the trains as well as near the station on 11 March 2004, a day also known as 11-M. About 190 people were killed and 1,775 wounded. The Atocha Station Memorial was built in the memory of these victims.
The memorial is a cylindrical structure built at the location where the four trains that were attacked. It stands 36ft high and is composed of glass blocks. The cylinder is illuminated by lights within the base, which is visible throughout the station. The messages of grief can be seen from a chamber underneath the monument.