Kukullaga is the southern terminus of line 3 of the

Bilbao metro 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 comb ...

. The station is also served by

Euskotren Trena Euskotren Trena, formerly known just as ''Euskotren'' is a commuter, inter-city and urban transit train-operating company that operates local and inter-city passenger services in the provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, ...

commuter and regional rail services. The station is located in the neighborhood of Kukullaga, in the municipality of

Etxebarri Etxebarri, Doneztebeko Elizatea ( es, Etxebarri, Anteiglesia de San Esteban) is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Basque Community, in the North of Spain. Since 13 January 2005, the name of "Etxebarri ...

, which is part of the

Bilbao metropolitan area The Bilbao Metropolitan Area (in Basque: ''Bilbo Handia'', in Spanish: ''Área metropolitana de Bilbao'') is the metropolitan area or continuous urban area based around the city of Bilbao, in the Basque Country, Spain. It comprises the city of B ...

. It is one of two metro stations in Etxebarri, the other one being

. It opened on 8 April 2017. During the planning and construction process, the station was referred to as ''Etxebarri-Norte'' and ''San Antonio-Etxebarri''.

Station layout

Kukullaga is an open-air station located at-grade in a neighbourhood with the same name, part of the municipality of Etxebarri. The station was designed by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

architect

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

The station can be accessed from the western side, facing Ametzola Park or from the eastern side using an

inclined elevator An inclined elevator or inclined lift is a form of cable railway that hauls rail cars up a steep gradient. Introduction An inclined elevator consists of one or two inclined tracks on a slope with a single car on each carrying payload. In t ...

that connects the station with the neighborhood of San Antonio, which is located at a higher altitude. The station is composed of a crystal footbridge connecting the entrances with the platforms. There has been criticism over the crystal bridge getting too hot during sunny days.

Access

Ametzola Park * Aiga elevator inv

29 Euskal Herria St. (Bº Kukullaga) * Aiga elevator inv

4, Church access (Bº San Antonio)

Services

Unlike the two other lines of the

system (which are operated by Metro Bilbao S.A.), line 3 is operated by

Euskotren Euskotren, formally known as Basque Railways ( eu, Eusko Trenbideak, es, Ferrocarriles Vascos), is a public railway company controlled by the Basque Government and officially established in 1982 to operate several narrow gauge railways inside ...

, which runs it as part of the

network. Trains from the Bilbao-San Sebastián,

Txorierri Txorierri is a valley of Biscay, Basque Country, separated from Bilbao by low mountains Monte Artxanda and Monte Abril. It includes the municipalities of Erandio, Loiu, Sondika, Derio, Zamudio, Lezama and Larrabetzu Larrabetzu is a town and mu ...

and Urdaibai lines of the network run through line 3. After the closure of the railtrack section between Kukullaga and Bilbao-Atxuri, the corridor between the neighborhood of Atxuri and the Kukullaga station will be served by an extension of the

Bilbao tram The Bilbao tram ( eu, Bilboko tranbia, es, Tranvía de Bilbao) is a tram system in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. Operated by Euskotren under the brand Euskotren Tranbia (which also manages the tram system in Vitoria-Gasteiz), it comprises a ...

, which will include the adaptation of Bilbao-Atxuri, Bolueta and Kukullaga stations to include platforms and tracks adapted to a tramway service. The tramway extension to Bolueta opened in March 2022, but the tram won't reach Kukullaga until a new depot for Euskotren's material is built, since the tracks the tram would use have been adapted as a temporary depot.

Gallery

Estación_de_Kukullaga_2.jpg, Footbridge connecting the platforms

References

External links

* {{Euskotren stations Line 3 (Bilbao metro) stations Euskotren Trena stations Railway stations opened in 2017 2017 establishments in the Basque Country (autonomous community)