The high-speed train will arrive in Bilbao in a 6-kilometre underground tunnel
The high-speed train will arrive in Bilbao through a 6 kilometer tunnel from the Nervión river, at the height of Lapatza, in the Biscayan town from Basaurito the future underground station of abandonaccording to the option chosen by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma).
The Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) has definitely approved the “Informative study of the new railway network of the Basque Country. Bilbao-Abando access corridor and station”, as well as its public information and hearing file, by Resolution of the General Secretariat for Infrastructure dated January 25, 2023, as announced this Wednesday by the Official State Gazette (BOE).
The main objective of this action has been to analyze the possible solutions in the Basauri-Bilbao Abando section, with a design appropriate to that of a high-speed line that forms part of the New Railway Network in the Basque Country (NRFPV). In the same way, this document includes the dDefinition of the future Bilbao-Abando intermodal station. It also includes all station remodeling and his track beachan urban action that will generate 38,000 square meters of spaces for public use and others 28,999 square meters for homes and economic activities and that will unite san francisco and bilbao la vieja with the unit centerd, two zones that are now separated by the beach of tracks.
Regarding the approved solution, in view of the conclusions of the informative study and its environmental impact study and after analyzing the allegations and reports received during the public information phase and administration hearing, it has been resolved to approve the alternative reported favorably by the environmental impact statement, which consists of alternative 1 (east) for the access corridor, which builds a tunnel from the Nervión riverat the height of Lapatza, in Basauri, up to the future underground station of Bilbao-Abando.
On March 26, 2019, the announcement by which said informative study was submitted to public information and hearing was published in the BOE. In parallel, the administration hearing procedure began, all for environmental and sectoral purposes.
The environmental evaluation procedure opened in September 2019with the sending of the public information file and hearing of administrations to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
By Resolution of December 15, 2022 (BOE of December 23, 2022), of the General Directorate of Quality and Environmental Assessment, the environmental impact statement of the “Informative study of the new railway network of the Basque Country. Corridor of access and Bilbao-Abando station”.
DEVELOPMENT OF ACTIONS
The Ministry, Adif, Adif-Alta Velocidad, the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country and the Bilbao City Council, signed a collaboration protocol on February 9, 2022 in order to coordinate and promote the execution of the different precise actions to guarantee both the arrival of high speed to the city of Bilbao, such as the urban transformation that the City Council foresees for the surroundings of the station.
The approval of this informative study supposes the culmination of the first of the acquired commitments and opens the way to the development of the rest of the planned actions.