Time between flight arrival and catching train?
 

How much time do you allow from landing in a European airport to getting to a train station?
We are landing in Madrid at 8:45am and need to get to Puerta de Atocha for a train? I am afraid to buy the ticket when we get to the train station as I have seen very long lines train stations in Europe when buying a ticket for same day travel.

Last month we flew from JFK to Lisbon and the flight was 3.5 hours late. My plans would have been messed up if I bought the ticker in advance

What do you do when you are faced with this situation?

Download the RENFE app onto your phone so you can buy a ticket once you know what time works for you. Be sure to preregister ahead of time so you are already logged in with your info.

Agree, just buy your ticket online when you have arrived.

What J62 and Seamus have said. Here are the reasons why you should download the app and buy your ticket when you've actually arrived--

For an estimated time you'll be out of the airport and at the taxi rank and on your way to Atocha station, there are a lot of variables.
It depends on how far the walk is from your gate, which terminal you're flying into, (either Terminal 1 used by Sky Team & Star Alliance members or Terminal 4 or its satellite T4S, used by One World), how many flights are landing at a similar time which can determine the wait to pass through immigration and how much time it takes to collect your luggage. Luggage reclaim can be a VERY slow process, very stop and go, in my recent experience.

If arriving on a Star Alliance or Sky Team member international flight, you’ll arrive at Terminal 1, T1, the original Barajas terminal.

If arriving on a One World member international flight, non-Schengen, you‘ll arrive at T4S, the satellite terminal of T4, and will need to take the underground automated people mover (APM) from T4S to T4 because the satellite terminal and main terminal sit facing each other 2 kilometers apart. This transfer from T4S to T4, on the APM takes 3 minutes and the train runs 24/7. There will be signs above the train telling you when the next train will arrive, usually in 2-3 minutes.

At T4S you'll pass through passport control/immigration. The lines for non-EU passport holders can often be long, especially during the police’s lunch break, but the police are efficient and swift when checking passports. This summer the lines began to form OUTSIDE the passport control area, the worst it's ever been.

Luckily, the health screening area in T4 has disappeared so that's one less hoop to jump through.

Then on the monitors in T4, find the location of your luggage carousel to reclaim any checked bag.

Taxis are plentiful, waiting and ready to go outside each terminal. The official taxis are white with a red stripe across the doors. Do not accept rides from clandestine drivers soliciting from outside the official taxi boarding area, the ones with the black cars. Madrid taxis charge a flat rate of 30 euros to take you to Puerta de Atocha. They accept credit cards. The taxi ride should take around 25 minutes.

You don't say where you are taking a train to.... depending on the type of train you can't pre-buy the ticket as it has to be bought on the spot.

On the other hand, if you're intending to take a high-speed train, it can indeed be purchased online and it's unwise to leave it to the very last minute as certain lines run pretty busy all the time.

You are not saying either when (which day) are you landing in Madrid... as you can imagine it's not the same landing on a weekday at 9am than landing on a Sunday evening. As Maribel pointed, there are a lot of variables to take into account in such a large airport.

There’s no set rules for European airports & the amount of time to leave between flight & train.

I would not leave buying a ticket until you arrive, depending on where you’re going to, your train could be sold out and/or very expensive. I would buy a ticket that offers flexibility eg you could take another train if you miss the booked one.

"very long lines for buying train tickets in Europe".......... In my life I've seen long lines for getting onto trains (often platforms are sealed off until the trains have stopped and are voiding previous customers/being cleaned) but it is very odd to see long ticket lines, especially as most people will buy on line or from multiple ticket points. Also generalising Europe when Europe has 50 odd countries is not really ....

Anyway good advice above. seat61.com also give advice

I believe from alane's other thread, the train destination is Seville. The Madrid-Seville AVE departs from the very large Puerta de Atocha, and lines indeed at the Atocha ticket counters can be long, frustratingly so. That's where the Renfe app comes in very handy.

Update....

I asked the question a month ago regarding traveling on a train from Madrid to Seville after landing in Madrid at 8:45am. I kept looking at the trains and began to see certain trains sell out.
I am only able to get a train 6 hours after we land in Madrid to Seville. The advise I got from the people her at the forum was download the app and buy the ticket as soon as I land in Madrid Every train is completely sold out and it is still 1 week out. Maybe because it is a Saturday.

We are now flying.

Just so we understand, are you arriving in Madrid this coming Saturday?

Sounds like a good plan. Your only question was about how to avoid long lines, and using the app is the best way to do that. Good thing you also looked at the hight speed train to Seville and saw that the trains were all booked, as was warned above.

yes saturday the 29th

yes the 29th