Palencia to Madrid and Barajas: the train from Palencia station or a car with a driver along the A-62 and the A-6, when each one makes sense and how to reach the station from El Cerrato and the villages

Which trains leave Palencia station for Madrid and how long do they take?

Palencia station is close to the centre, beside the Jardinillos park and the bus station, and since 2015 it has been part of the high-speed line linking Madrid with Valladolid, Palencia and León. Through it run the fast trains from Madrid to León and Asturias and those from Madrid to Santander, which continue via Aguilar de Campoo, as well as the regional services to Valladolid, Burgos and León. Madrid-Chamartín is around an hour and a half away on the direct services, with a stop in Valladolid; most of them end at Chamartín, in the north of the capital, and it is worth checking where the train you buy terminates. The province page sums it up: with high-speed trains at Palencia and the Venta de Baños junction, the train is the usual way to Madrid.

Venta de Baños, a few kilometres south of the capital, is a historic railway junction where the lines to Burgos and to León part company, and its station is still served by regional and medium-distance trains to Valladolid, Burgos and Palencia. For anyone living in El Cerrato it may be the handiest station for a regional train, but the fast trains to Madrid leave from Palencia or from Valladolid Campo Grande, which has more services and is half an hour away on the A-62. Timetables change by season and are at renfe.com; what does not change is that the first and last trains do not match the province's bus times, so the connection with the station is booked with the train time to hand.

How do you reach Palencia station from El Cerrato and the villages?

Villamuriel de Cerrato works almost as a suburb of the capital and is 8 km from the station; Dueñas, beside the A-62 and halfway to Valladolid, is 23 km away; Venta de Baños and Baltanás have their own route pages with the figure. They are short drives, but the intercity bus reaches the bus station on weekday timetables that are no use for the first train of the morning or the last one at night, and even less so on Sundays. For a resident with a car the station car park solves a one-day trip; for a week away, or for anyone who does not want to leave the family car in Palencia, the transfer with a driver from the front door at the train time is the missing piece.

From Tierra de Campos and the mountains the journey is longer: Carrión de los Condes is 42 km from the station along the CL-615; Aguilar de Campoo, 95 km along the A-67, although it has a station of its own on the Santander line and sometimes a train from there to Palencia works out better; Guardo and Saldaña come down on slower roads. In every case the transfer is booked with the train number or time: the driver works out the pickup to arrive with a margin and, on the way back, waits at the station door and tracks the train on the board if it is running late. The price is per car and trip, not per person, and is fixed before booking.

And if the destination is Barajas: train to Chamartín or car straight through?

There is no direct train from Palencia to the terminal. By train you reach Chamartín and from there carry on by suburban rail or metro to T4, or by taxi to T1, T2 or T3; with luggage, children or an elderly person, that change in a large station is the most awkward part of the trip. And there is a problem of hours: early-morning flights leave before the first train from Palencia can drop anyone at Chamartín, and those landing at night arrive after the last train back to Palencia has gone. The province page says it plainly: for first-thing flights, a car from home is the most reliable option.

The car with a driver leaves the front door at the time the flight dictates, runs down the A-62 to Valladolid, continues on the A-6 from Tordesillas or on the A-601 and the AP-6 depending on traffic, and enters Barajas by the M-40 without crossing the centre; the engine's figures for the capital are in the answer above, with tolls inside the price. From Venta de Baños the published "from" fare is 286,14 € for the whole car, and every town in the province has its own page. On the way back, the driver follows the flight and waits in arrivals with a name sign; if the plane is late, the pickup moves with it, under the conditions on the help page.

When does the car with a driver along the A-62 and the A-6 work out better?

When the destination is not a station. IFEMA lies in the north-east of Madrid, next to Barajas, 236 km from Palencia, and a trade fair with equipment or several colleagues is better done door to door than with two changes; the large Madrid hospitals, for an appointment or an admission referred from Palencia, require arriving at a specific time and a specific entrance; central Madrid, about 182 min away, is the destination for anyone carrying luggage for a season or travelling with children. Also when you go as a group: the price is per car, so three or four people with luggage usually come out better than three or four tickets, and nobody has to fit train times around bus times from the village.

The train still wins in one clear case: a single person with little luggage, going there and back in the day between central Palencia and central Madrid, who finds a suitable time. It is faster on the Palencia–Madrid stretch and lets you work on the way. The intercity coach to Madrid, which arrives at the Estación Sur in Méndez Álvaro, is usually the cheapest option and the slowest, with stops along the way. The honest comparison is not train versus car, but each journey with its time, its luggage, its destination in Madrid and the people travelling; the knowledge centre piece on how to decide between taxi, VTC, train or coach for an airport sets it out at length.

How do you book, and what does the transfer include?

On the website or in the app, with the pickup address, the destination, the date and the time; for a flight or a train you add the number, and the price is fixed before confirming, with no surprises from traffic or tolls. The driver confirms the pickup, arrives at the door and, at an airport or a station, waits in arrivals with a sign bearing the traveller's name. The invoice is issued in the name of the traveller or their company, with VAT itemised, and companies with frequent trips to Madrid can open a company account with a monthly invoice. What the waiting covers, what happens if the flight is cancelled and how a booking is changed or cancelled is written on the help page, and that is what applies.

Each route has its page with the "from" fare, which is the engine's price for the typical trip in daytime; the calculator gives the exact figure with the precise address, date and time, because leaving Villamuriel in the small hours is not the same as leaving central Palencia at midday. During Holy Week the processions close streets in central Palencia for several days and at San Antolín, in early September, the city fills up; on those dates it is worth booking ahead and agreeing a pickup point outside the closed area. In winter, fog in the Carrión valley and early-morning frost on the A-62 call for a margin before an early flight, and the driver allows for it when confirming the day before.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Renfe · trenes de alta velocidad y regionales entre Madrid y Palencia (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Adif · estaciones de Palencia y Venta de Baños: servicios y accesos (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Aena · Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas: terminales, accesos y llegadas (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible · red de carreteras del Estado: A-62, A-6 y AP-6 (consulted on 27 October 2026)