The Atocha train station
In these times of diminishing middle class income and consequent loss of buying power, there’s nothing like humor to ride it all out. So instead of giving you the news about the increase in the price of using toilets at the busy Atocha railway station in Madrid, in simple English, we have decided to give you Google’s translation of the original news in Spanish that appears in the online newspaper El Confidencial (www.elconfidencial.com). The translation is somewhat esoteric. We’re sure you’ll get the gist of it, though.
Here it goes. Enjoy!
If necessary, better to take small change. At least in the vicinity of the station Atocha in Madrid . The bathrooms, public far, begin to be paid for: ADIF, the public company that manages the railway infrastructure, management assigned to 2theloo toilets, a company specializing in such services. When they start to be operating the new facility, in the month of November, the price of the service will be 60 cents per user. The company this has been confirmed, in the afternoon of Tuesday, at The Confidential, stating that since last December has increased ten-cents-of 50-60 – the cost of using the toilets.
Following this project, ADIF “explore” the possibility of implementing the same service in other stations of Spain. “The goal is to improve the quality of service to users”, explains the Spanish railroad managing in a statement released this morning . The company responsible for installing the toilets, of Dutch origin, has been in Spain since the beginning of 2012. Its offerings are focused on the design and cleanliness of public toilets. The management contract of the toilets has a term of seven years and has been awarded for 280,000 euros plus VAT , has detailed one of ADIF portavoz to The Confidential.
The change will not affect all the toilets of the station, since the services of lounges will remain directly managed by ADIF and its use will be free. “This is a fully consolidated model in European railway stations and other public spaces and facilities, such as malls or gas stations, ” said ADIF in a statement.
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Featured image has been released into public domain by author Daderot.
Note: The Atocha train station (Atocha Renfe) is the largest railway station in Madrid and serves commuter, intercity, and regional trains as well as the AVE (bullet train). Apart from this, the station is famed for its hothouse botanical garden (see featured image).
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