Best way to get from Madrid to Leon, early?

[Bernard000]

Edit: I have answered my own question after doing some research. Have a great day!
xxx
Hello pilgrims!
I will be staying near el Retiro/Puerta de Atocha after I land (on a Monday). The next morning, I want to get to Leon as early as possible.
- Is there a direct train from Puerta de Atocha to Leon ? I tried buying online through renfe, but it might be too early.
- I know there are regularly scheduled trains, but I can't find a timeline: would someone have a link?
- Would it be preferable to purchase the ticket ahead of time, or could this be done the day of?

Buen Camino!

 

[henrythedog]

Have a look at a Monday within the next couple of weeks as a guide. The timetables change very infrequently other than for engineering works.

 

[Molly Cassidy]

Looks like the earliest leaves at 6:58 and arrives in León at 8:59.

 

[Molly Cassidy]

It leaves from Chamartín, though.

 

[peregrina2000]

It leaves from Chamartín, though.

There is currently no way for high speed trains to travel the 8 km between Atocha and Chamartín, so travelers going from, say Sevilla to Barcelona or Santiago to Málaga have to get off and transfer on Cercanías from one station to the other when they get to Madrid.

That will soon change —construction is ongoing to open a high-speed-rail tunnel between Atocha and Chamartín. This is at a cost of at least a billion dollars and years of construction. I have not seen what the projected date of opening is, but it will be a huge improvement.

The articles describing the construction all talk about how it will turn Atocha and Chamartin into one station with two stops rather than two separate unconnected stations.

 

[Bernard000]

I've looked it up, and there's a few fast options to get from Atocha to Chamartin, one of them being the bus.
Have a great day, pilgrims!

 

[peregrina2000]

I've looked it up, and there's a few fast options to get from Atocha to Chamartin, one of them being the bus.
Have a great day, pilgrims!

I would definitely not take the bus from Atocha to Chamartin. The system is in place for travelers to use the Cercanías train (commuter rail), which goes from one station to the other in 13 minutes. If you look at the map, you will see that every Cercanías line that goes through Atocha goes through Chamartín. You will have a QR code on your ticket that allows you to use the train for free, and there are always real people at the Cercanías entrance in both stations. All you have to do is make sure to get on in the right direction.

 

[Kalimera]

I took the train from Madrid Airport to Charmatain and then Charmatain to Leon. Very relaxing trip.

 

[Bernard000]

I would definitely not take the bus from Atocha to Chamartin. The system is in place for travelers to use the Cercanías train (commuter rail), which goes from one station to the other in 13 minutes. If you look at the map, you will see that every Cercanías line that goes through Atocha goes through Chamartín. You will have a QR code on your ticket that allows you to use the train for free, and there are always real people at the Cercanías entrance in both stations. All you have to do is make sure to get on in the right direction.

I will definitely be doing this. I see the QR code for the cercanias , there's also a combination code. Thank you very much!