Spain: EIB approves €550 million loan to Adif to increase capacity at Madrid’s Atocha station

• The operation is part of the EIB’s €740 million framework loan to Adif for improving infrastructure at the Madrid rail hub.
• Developments in Atocha and its surroundings will include a new through station and the connection of the Madrid-Levante and Madrid-Barcelona high-speed lines.
• The project promotes investment in sustainable transport and is in line with the EIB Group’s Sustainable cities and regions public policy goal.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €550 million loan to Adif to increase capacity at Madrid’s Puerta de Atocha Almudena Grandes station. This financing is part of the €740 million framework loan approved by the EIB in 2021 to help Adif transform the Madrid rail hub, including work in this station and in Chamartín Clara Campoamor station.

The EIB is financing a series of projects to increase capacity at the Atocha and Chamartín stations under the umbrella of this framework loan, with the goal being to ensure they can operate as two terminals within the same transport hub. The Spanish high-speed rail network — and the Atlantic and Mediterranean corridors of the Trans-European Transport Network — will ultimately be connected via the capital’s two main stations.

In Madrid's Puerta de Atocha Almudena Grandes station, the EIB-supported project includes the construction of new platforms 16 and 17 (implementation in progress), the new through station (award in progress), the renovation of the historic trainshed and the development of Plaza del Embarcadero (implementation in progress), among other work. Financing will also go to the connection between the Madrid-Levante and Madrid-Barcelona high-speed lines near Atocha station (implementation in progress).

Among other benefits, expanding infrastructure within the Madrid rail hub will address the increased traffic associated with the liberalisation of the rail sector. Atocha and Chamartín will have the capacity to accommodate new high-speed lines.

Linked to the EIB Group’s sustainable cities and regions public policy goal, the project promotes long-term investments in sustainable transport. Similarly, it boosts financing for climate action and environmental sustainability developments in support of the transition to a green economy, a cross-cutting objective for the EU climate bank.

The operation promotes a modal shift towards rail transport and will have multiple environmental benefits, contributing to the reduction of road traffic congestion, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.