Atocha Station
Atocha Station, dating back to 1851, was the very first railway station in Madrid. Recent renovations have modernised the station, with FOAMGLAS® cellular glass being one of the key elements. FOAMGLAS® was used for the compact roof. It is compression-resistant, accessible to foot traffic and built out of ecological materials.
Atocha Station was inaugurated in 1851 under the name of “Mediodia Station”, and was the first railway station at Madrid. This station was renewed after a fire under the direction of Alberto de Palacio, colleague of Gustav Eiffel, and the works took 4 years. The structure of the roof was built in Belgium with De Dion beams and is the more important element of “Atocha Station”.
Between 1985 and 1992 the refurbishment works intended to increase the passenger’s capacity of the station and were leaded by architect Rafael Moneo. Those works and the works finished in 2010 have joint several stations in one: local trains, medium and High range trains (including the high speed AVE), buses, metro and a Parking. The old station was converted in a commercial mall including a tropical garden. The Works that finished in 2011 allows the new connection by high speed with Valencia renewing the “Puerta de Atocha” terminal.
