Cercanías Bilbao (

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

: ''Bilboko Aldiriak'') is a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

network in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, serving the city and its

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

. It is operated by

Cercanías The commuter rail systems of Spain's major metropolitan areas are called ''Cercanías'' () in most of Spain, ''Rodalia'' () in the Valencian Community, ''Aldiriak'' () in the Basque Country and ''Rodalies'' () in Catalonia. There are twelve ''Ce ...

, as part of Renfe, the national railway company. It consists of three lines, named C-1, C-2 and C-3. All three of them start at Bilbao-Abando station, which is the central station of the city.

System

Cercanías Bilbao follows the same patterns as other

networks in the country, as

Cercanías Madrid Cercanías Madrid is the commuter rail service that serves Madrid, the capital of Spain, and its metropolitan area. It is operated by Cercanías Renfe, the commuter rail division of Renfe, the former monopoly of rail services in Spain. Its to ...

or Cercanías Barcelona. The network consists of three lines, all of them starting at Bilbao-Abando and linking the center of

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

with other

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

within the

. There are three lines, named C-1, C-2 and C-3; the first two follow the

Estuary of Bilbao The Estuary of Bilbao (Spanish: ''Ría de Bilbao'' / Basque: ''Bilboko Itsasadarra'') lies at the common mouth of the rivers Nervion, Ibaizabal and Cadagua, which drain most of Biscay and part of Alava in the Basque Country, Spain. In this inst ...

, and the C-3 reaches municipalities outside the metropolitan area. The network has connections with

Metro Bilbao The Bilbao metro ( es, Metro de Bilbao, eu, Bilboko metroa) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Bilbao and the region of Greater Bilbao. Lines 1 and 2 have a "Y" shape, as they transit both banks of the river Ibaizabal and then combi ...

(

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

FEVE Renfe Feve is a division of state-owned Spanish railway company Renfe Operadora. It operates most of Spain's of railway. This division of Renfe was previously a stand-alone company named FEVE (Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha,Law 11/1965 of 2 ...

(commuter rail), Renfe (regional trains), the tram and Bilbao's bus station,

Termibus Bilbao Intermodal, previously known as Termibus, is the main bus station of Bilbao ( Basque Country, Spain) and it is located beside San Mamés Stadium. The bus terminal is linked to the ''San Mamés'' underground, tram and commuter rail station ...

Lines

Service frequencies

As of October 2011, there are the typical service frequencies for each line:Cercanías Bilbao
Official Website *Line C-1 - Trains each 30 minutes at early time in the morning and at late nights; trains each 20 minutes at peak times. *Line C-2 - Trains each 30 minutes at early time in the morning and at late nights; trains each 20 minutes at peak times. *Line C-3 - Two trains per hour early in the mornings at late at nights; up to three trains per hour at peak times.

Stations

Cercanías Bilbao serves the following stations:

Rolling stock

The

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

consists of UT 446

electrical multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

s built by CAF, each one formed by three cars.

Developments

These are the recent projects that have been developed or will be started in the network.

Southern rail branch (C-1 and C-2)

In year 2000 the network was renewed by the public company ''Bilbao Ria 2000'', several new underground stations were opened in the city of Bilbao, a project that was called Southern rail branch (''Variante sur ferroviaria''). This change implied the closing of ''Parke/Guggenheim'' and ''Bilbao-La Naja'' stations, on the line that run beside the river before that date. This cleared ground for the creation of new riverside avenues and the tramway. The tracks used for the new branch were used before for freight transport, these tracks were covered and a new avenue and the park of Ametzola were created on top of them. The stations on the new branch are: * San Mamés * Autonomía * Ametzola * Zabalburu The former Bilbao-La Naja terminal station gave way to Bilbao-Abando, where C1 and C2 services arrive and depart now. Formerly this station was used only by C3 and long-distance services, to cope with the increase of traffic two new covered platforms were added to the station, increasing the number of platforms from six to eight. The remains of Bilbao-La Naja station can still be seen beside the

Arenal Bridge The Arenal Bridge (Spanish: ''Puente del Arenal'', Basque: ''Areatzako zubia'') is a reinforced concrete bridge in Bilbao, Spain. It spans the Estuary of Bilbao, linking the neighborhoods of Casco Viejo and Abando. The third bridge to stand on th ...

. The Ametzola area was a

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...

, that was dismantled to create new parks and residential areas.

Santurtzi station (C-1)

The new Santurtzi station was built close to the old one by ''Bilbao Ria 2000'' and inaugurated on July 10, 2003. The space that the old station occupied is used now as a parking lot, but will be renewed to extend the nearby park.

Miribilla station (C-3)

This station was opened on December 16, 2008 and links the newly developed neighbourhoods with central Bilbao. This is Spain's deepest underground station, the access to the platforms is provided by high capacity elevators.

Amurrio Iparralde station (C-3)

Works have started in the new Iparralde station, in the town of Amurrio.

Barakaldo station (C-1/C-2)

This station will be renewed, 200 m of tracks will be covered, improving the newly developed neighbourhoods of Barakaldo.

Portugalete station (C-1)

This station will be covered, a mall will be created on top of it and lifts will provide access from central Portugalete.

Vizcaya Bridge station (C-1)

There is a proposal to build this underground station, intermediate between Portugalete and Peñota stations, that would provide a direct link to Vizcaya Bridge.

References

External links

Renfe website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cercanias Bilbao Cercanías Transport in Bilbao Rail transport in the Basque Country (autonomous community)