City News

Updated: December 2005

Last update : July 2005

Small lines join the Creditrans system

Two small bus lines Etxebarribus and Sopelbus, and the public lift to Ereaga have joint the Creditrans system in June 2005.

EuskoTren and FEVE join Creditrans ticket system

The EuskoTren and FEVE rail companies have announced they are joining the Creditrans single-ticket scheme in 2005. The first line added to the scheme is Bilbao-Lezama from Bilbao to the Txorierri valley - 15,8 km and 14 stations - with the subsequent addition of Bilbao-Ermua and Bilbao-Bermeo. FEVE’s Bilbao-Balmaseda service runs from the city to Las Encartaciones over 33 km through 18 stations. This means that the only large operator not using the scheme is RENFE and its three local lines, although the matter is now being discussed. Companies using Creditrans account for 80% of all public transport users in Bizkaia.

New metro stations opened to the public

Metro Bilbao’s new Sestao and Etxebarri stations were opened on 8th January 2005. Etxebarri station has a dissuasory car park. Metro Bilbao consists of 2 lines, running a total distance of 36,4 km through 34 stations, 12 of which share the San Inazio-Etxebarri routing for 7,8 km. Building plans for the metro envisage a total of 41 stations over 44 km.

First tram line completed

Bilbao’s "EuskoTren" service on the first line between Atxuri and Basurto commenced in July 2004. The line has 12 stations / stops over 4,9 km. Plans are currently being made to extend the tram system around Bilbao and the metropolitan area.

BARIK contact-free card

A contact-free card pilot test was performed in 2004 for the Bizkaia Transport Consortium. 700 users of Bilbobus, Bizkaibus, Metro Bilbao and EuskoTren services took part in the test. A dual-interface card issued via the BBVA and BBK banks was used for the tests, whereby charging was handled by the banks and by Metro Bilbao ticket machines. The result was extremely satisfactory, and the Transport Consortium is currently examining the final solution and time factors.

Introduction of electronic ticketing

BARIK (meaning "without" in Basque language), as is called the new electronic ticketing project for the metropolitan area of Bilbao (1 million inhabitants), was launched in February in the context of a pilot scheme. 4 metro stations and 3 bus lines are used for this experiment that aims to check during 6 months that everything goes all right before generalisation to all ticket holders. The cards can be refilled both in metro stations and in bank automats, illustrating the co-operation between transport organisation and financial institutions. 650 persons of different age and travelling habits take part in this pilot phase, whose cost, estimated at &euro 0.6 million, is funded mainly by the financial institutions involved in the project. (added March 2004)
http://www.cotrabi.com

Bilbao: Metro Line 2 has started operations

Line 2 of the Bilbao Metro started operations on 13th April, five years after Line 1, which has proved a great success since its inauguration. Line 1, which is 28km long and has 27 stations, carried 56 million passengers in 2001, and this first facility received several international awards. Surveys carried out also showed that over 15,000 passengers use the metro rather than their own private vehicles every day.

The new metro route will serve the left bank of the Nervion River (Ezkerraldea district), which has a population of about 275,000. The arrival of the metro system in this area, which was severely hit by industrial crisis over the last 20 years, with high rates of unemployment and social degradation, will help contribute to transform this district into a location of opportunity and progress.

Line 2 will be, when it is fully completed in 2011, 20.5km long, of which 10km will run along the left bank, and the remaining 10.5km will be shared with Line 1, which serves the centre of Bilbao.

This huge project will require a total investment of ¤ 434m, paid by the Consorcio de Transportes de Bizkaia. Half of this amount will come from the Basque government and the other half from the Provincial Council of Bizkaia.

The first section of Line 2, inaugurated in April, is 5.7km long and cost &euro 281m. It provides five new stations, three of which retain the cavernous configuration designed by the architect Norman Foster for Line 1, with access to street level via escalators and lifts. Stations have been located at strategic points so as to provide access to a metro station in less than 10 minutes for over 75,000 people.

Additional rolling stock for this new line consists in 13 trains equipped with hi-tech ATO and ATP safety systems, for a total cost of &euro 82 m.

Line 2 was built by the Consorcio de Transportes de Bizkaia (CTB), an authority made of the Basque Government, the Biscay Provincial Government, the Bilbao City Council and other city councils of the metropolitan area. It is operated by Metro Bilbao, a company owned 100% by CTB. (added July 2002)

Tramway soon back in Bilbao

36 years after they disappeared from the streets of Bilbao, the capital city of Bizkaia in the Basque Country, tramways are about to come back. The decision to build a new tramway network, called EuskoTran, was reached in 1998 between the Basque Government, the Municipality of Bilbao and Bilbao-Ria 2000, a public company in charge of designing the project. The first route, called Line A, will be inaugurated in Spring 2002. It will connect Atxuri and San Mames and cross the whole city in 15 minutes. It will serve the major public facilities, cultural (Guggenheim Museum) and commercial areas of Bilbao. The Line will be 4.5 km long and provide 11 stations. Frequencies will vary between 5 and 10 minutes, and 10,000 passengers are expected to use the tramway each day. The cost of building the Line A (&euro 20,4m), was shared between the three stakeholders of the project (64,75% for the Basque Government, 11,75% for the Municipality of Bilbao and 23,50% for Bilbao-Ria 2000). The vehicles, built by the Basque company CAF for a total value of &euro 18m, will have a capacity of 196 passengers (among which 48 sitting) and will be fully accessible for people with reduced mobility. The vehicles, that will provide air-conditioning, will have priority at traffic lights via a radio system.

The Line will be operated by the public company Eusko Tren, which plans to invest about &euro 170 m over the next 12 years in new tramway projects in the Basque country. A single trip will cost &euro 0.90, and it is expected that the tramway will one day be integrated in the fare community with the other transport modes of Bilbao (bus and metro). (added March 2002)

New step towards fare integration in Bilbao

Common fares
The next step is to establish common fares throughout Bizkaia. The Consorcio de Transportes de Bizkaia is already working on this.

Creditrans multi-purpose ticket
The Creditrans multi-purpose ticket came into operation on Bizkaia’s public transport network on September 23rd. Creditrans is a prepaid ticket from which the amount of each trip is subtracted as it is used. The rate that is deducted is the applicable for the bonus passes which are intended to be substituted by Creditrans in the near future. The market for these passes is worth over 6 billion pesetas per year. It is a multi-purpose ticket, i.e. it can be used on different means of transport and in different areas and combinations. More than one person can also travel on the same ticket. Discounts of 20% of the total price of the trip are applied for changes in transport. Creditrans has obtained a market share of 60% in its first month of operation.

Common zones
The Consorcio de Transportes de Bizkaia proposal of common zones has been approved for all public transport. Bizkaia has been divided into five concentric fare areas around a central core zone in Bilbao. The possibility of linking Bilbao with the rest of its metropolitan area in a single core zone is now being studied. (added December 2000)