C-8 Commuter Train to Cercedilla and C-9 Bus to Cotos

The commuter train reaches Cercedilla from Madrid, and the medium-distance train from Segovia also stops there. Line C-9, the rack railway from Cercedilla to the Navacerrada Pass and Cotos, has been closed for renovation works since May 2024: Renfe replaces it with a bus that stops at the pass, and which is suspended on days of heavy snowfall. Check with Renfe whether the C-9 has reopened before you go.

The train to Cercedilla

According to the Transport Consortium, the branch that reaches Cercedilla is the C-8b, Guadalajara – Alcalá de Henares – Atocha – Chamartín – Villalba – Cercedilla. You can board at Atocha, Recoletos, Nuevos Ministerios or Chamartín, and before Cercedilla it stops at Villalba, Los Molinos-Guadarrama and Collado Mediano. The National Park cites it as C-8 Guadalajara – Madrid – Cercedilla on its access pages. Timetables are at renfe.com and crtm.es; check the return before you set out, especially on a Sunday.

The medium-distance Segovia – Cercedilla train, with several stops, lets you arrive from the Segovia side of the sierra.

From Cercedilla station

The station is on Calle de Emilio Serrano, in the village. From here you have three options:

• Walk up to the Fuenfría valley. The National Park gives three paths from the station to the Fuenfría Visitor Centre: the one parallel to the Las Dehesas road, the Camino Puricelli path and the Camino del Agua. The Roman road and the Bourbon road start there.
• Bus to the Fuenfría Hospital. An intercity bus runs from the station to the hospital and stops opposite the visitor centre.
• Go up to the pass. The C-9 replacement bus or, at weekends and on public holidays, line 692 (Los Molinos – Cercedilla – Valdesquí), which stops at the station every 30 minutes.

The C-9 replacement bus

While the works last, the National Park lists a special bus service between Cercedilla and Cotos with a stop at the Navacerrada Pass. It is the way to reach the Schmid Path and Siete Picos, the Navacerrada Pass ski resort or the Peñalara routes from Cotos by combining it with the train. In January 2026 it was suspended because of snow, so in stormy weather check with Renfe and the Park's social media whether it is running.

If you are going for the snow or Peñalara

The alternative without the train is the 691 bus, which leaves Moncloa and climbs to the pass, Cotos and Valdesquí. By car, the Cotos car park is free but fills up early at weekends. For lunch in Cercedilla, see La Maya.