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 ...
operates frequent commuter rail services in the city of San Sebastián and the surrounding
Donostialdea
Donostialdea is one of the eight regions of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Autonomous Community, corresponding to the basin of the lower Urumea River, along with a strip of basin corresponding to the Oria River, the region borrowing its name from Dono ...
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. The infrastructure is gradually being upgraded to
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 ...
standards, in order to create the San Sebastián Metro ( es, Metro de San Sebastián, eu, Donostiako metroa). The line is commonly known as Topo (), due to the large number of tunnels present. As of 2021, the San Sebastián suburban rail services are branded as part of the
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, ...
network, with no separate identity.
History
The
meter-gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, l ...
line opened on December 5, 1912 between San Sebastián with
Irun
Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.
History
It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman-Vasconic town.
During the Span ...
. It was extended to
Hendaye
Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA The network was subsequently owned by
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 ...
, the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
narrow-gauge railway company, until it was transferred to the Basque Government in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, it was integrated into ''
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 ...
'', along with other narrow-gauge lines in the Basque Country.
Since the 2010s, the line has been gradually upgraded towards
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 ...
standards. In 2012, together with the opening of a new tunnel between Loiola and Herrera, it was announced that the line would be renamed to ''Metro Donostialdea''. This branding, however, has since been abandoned. In 2015, a branch was opened from Herrera to . This branch will be part of the new alignment between Herrera and .
Future developments
A underground loop through the city centre was originally planned to open in 2022, but is now (as of 2021) scheduled for 2024. This new tunnel will have three stations: , and ; the last one of which will substitute the current Amara terminus. When the tunnel is completed, the need to reverse at Amara will disappear.
The works on the new - stretch began in February 2022, with completion scheduled for 2027. This new alignment will simplify operations by absorbing the Altza branch into the main line. When completed, the line will be double-tracked between and .
Operations
There are two numbered lines: E2 and E5. Line E5 runs from to every 15 minutes on weekdays, and every 30 minutes during most of the weekend. Line E2 has two services: one from to
Irun
Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.
History
It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman-Vasconic town.
During the Span ...
, and another one from Lasarte-Oria to
Hendaia
Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA Additionally, trains running on the Bilbao-San Sebastián line call at all the stations between and Amara.
Due to the existence of various overlapping services, headways vary depending on the time of the day and location. Since 2012, with the opening of the new Loiola-Herrera tunnel, there is a train every 7.5 minutes between and Herrera. With the opening of the tunnel through the city center, it will be possible to offer regular headways in a longer stretch of the line.
Station list
The following table shows regular weekday service patterns. The first trains in the morning and the last in the evening make shorter trips.
Trains stop at stations marked with "●" and don't stop at those marked with"｜":
Rolling stock
The line shares rolling stock with the rest of the
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, ...
network. Currently, 900 series trains are used. In the past,
200
__NOTOC__
Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 ''Ab ur ...
,
300
__NOTOC__
Year 300 ( CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1053 ''Ab ...
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 ...