Overview

This station is an interesting building with an indoor tropical garden and shops including The Body Shop, and plenty of cafes and restaurants. It’s flat throughout the station and generally accessible for wheelchairs and mobility scooters. I booked special assistance and it worked. They had a really good ramp for getting on and off the train and the staff were nice people. I found it stressful due to the noise in the waiting area, so I needed earplugs. You have to pay 1 euro to access the toilets before security, on the shops and restaurant side, and you’ll need to find an attendant to open the door to the disabled toilet. Now that I’ve used the station once, the next time will be much easier.

Transport & Parking

Access

The train station is flat without steps, and there are lifts to the different floors. Signage is limited. I found it difficult to locate toilets I could use on the outside of the security. In the end these were available close to the tropical garden and the PMR waiting room (see notes on toilets). There was some limited seating on the outside of security, around the shops and cafes. The most seating was available around the indoor tropical garden, and in the special assistance / PMR office and waiting area next to the garden. The whole of the station is noisy, but the PMR office was particularly noisy so I chose to wear earplugs to reduce the stress. Once you are on the platform side of security it is much quieter with lots of seating along the edges of the space including some marked for disabled travellers. I didn’t notice any seating actually on the platforms because I was focused on following the special assistance crew. They had benches on the platforms at the stations we passed through on the train so I think its likely they have them in Madrid too. Getting on and off the train was easy with the ramp/lift machine they use (see pictures). No steep rickety ramp to deal with. The special assistance crew helped me with my bags through security. They only wanted to scan them (for bombs I assume). There was no limits on what I could take through. I tried to take in as much as I could but I didn’t see what was available to people who may be deaf or blind.

Toilets

The toilets outside the station security, where the shops and cafes are, you have to pay 1 euro for. They are operated by a company called One Hundred Restrooms which you see on the signpost. I used one of these restrooms near to the special assistance PMR waiting area. On the platform side of security they are apparently free but I didn’t see them. You have to buy a ticket from a machine before the turnstiles. You get a QR code that you can use to either get you through the turnstiles or you give to an attendant to let you in the disabled toilet which is next to the turnstiles. I had trouble tracking down an attendant and had to ask someone to go in and find one. But when she came out she helpfully opened the door. I don’t have photos because my phone died on me. Inside it was spacious with two toilets, one normal height and one smaller and lower. I’m not sure how easy transferring from a chair would be. There’s not much room between these two toilets and the main one is close to the wall on one side. But the room was enormous. It had an adapted sink and a baby change.

Staff

The staff were kind and not patronising. However, they were run ragged. I was trying to explain that I had paid for access to the lounge on the platform side of security that would be quiet with free drinks and food, but they wouldn’t allow me to go through and wait for special assistance on that side of security. We passed a set of chairs labelled for disabled people on the platform side just after security so I felt that it should have been possible to be picked up from there. They wanted me to be in there office by the gardens only. I also asked for their help to find a toilet attendant to open the disabled toilet but there wasn’t anyone available to do it.

Photos