We want to talk to you today about the station Atocha, although we should really talk properly about the Atocha stations, since there are several stations that have joined there, railway and metro. It is located very close to the Charles V Square, Atocha, without further ado, for the vast majority of Madrid residents.
The Madrid Atocha station was originally built in the 9th century. It was inaugurated on February 1851, XNUMX, by the railway company MZA or Compañía del Ferrocarril de Madrid a Zaragoza y Alicante. With the name of Midday Station and also known as South Station o Embarcadero (name by which the railway stations were initially known) of Atocha. It was the first railway station in Madrid and was the head of the Madrid – Aranjuez line. On the day of the inauguration, a trip was made to Aranjuez with the Queen isabel II as an illustrious passenger.
Atocha has changed a lot over time. The station that we can see today is fundamentally the result of the expansion carried out under the direction of Rafael Moneo with the arrival of the AVE of the Madrid-Seville line. The works were carried out between 1985 and 1992, and two completely new high-capacity stations were created, the Puerta de Atocha station that would host the new high-speed line and located behind the original station, and the Atocha Cercanías station, which would host the lines that continue towards the Castellana tunnel and later also towards Floorsaws and that communicate with the south and east of Madrid. The construction included an interchange that brings together the Atocha Cercanías stations and the Madrid Atocha Renfe Metro station.
The original station was preserved, and that is what we want to focus on. Inside, the lobby that gives access to the other stations was built. It included a tropical garden on the site where tracks and platforms originally stood. A giant greenhouse in which 7.200 plants of 260 species were planted, with ponds in its front. Among the largest species, the Phoenix spp., Washingtonias spp., Syagrus romanzoffiana, Strelitzia nicolai, Arecas, Kentias, Butia capitata, Ficus spp., and Scheffleras, although probably the most striking species ravenala madagascariensis, Madagascar palm or Traveler's palm. I still remember that when the garden was inaugurated we went to visit it and it became quite an attraction. Even today it is a very special place where travelers wait for their train to arrive, others wait for someone who comes on those trains and still others watching the life of the station go by.
This station was inaugurated on December 8, 1892, after many years of plans, projects, changes of opinion and equipment. He directed the works Alberto de Palacio Elissagne, a collaborator of Gustave EiffelThe construction lasted four years. The ship was 154 meters long, 48,76 meters wide and 27 meters high, enormous for the time. The iron roof was built in Belgium with the De Dion type rigid structure system. This structure was closed at the end that faces the Emperor Charles V roundabout, where we see the characteristic façade, which is the best-known image of the station. It is considered a work of art of nineteenth-century railway architecture.
A delight for the eyes without a doubt, and a success that despite the multiple extensions and remodeling, the old station has been maintained, which is a fantastic sight of Madrid.
A abrazo.
⁶I often ate in the railway canteen that existed for railway and station staff…….
I didn't know of its existence. Thanks for the contribution.