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Ariz–Basurto line

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Ariz–Basurto line
View of the freight yard adjacent to Ariz station
Overview
StatusActive
OwnerEuskal Trenbide Sarea
LocaleBiscay, Basque Country, Spain
Termini
History
Opened7 January 1906
Technical
Line length7.363 km (4.575 mi)[1]
Number of tracksSingle
Track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
Route map

Legend
Santander–Bilbao line
to Santander
Santander–Bilbao line
to Bilbao-Concordia
Matiko–Azbarren line
to Matiko
 ArcelorMittal
Bilbao–San Sebastián line
to Matiko
 Ariz
Bilbao–San Sebastián line
to Amara
This diagram:

The Ariz–Basurto line (Basque: Ariz-Basurto trenbidea, Spanish: Ferrocarril Ariz-Basurto) is a short single-track unelectrified railway line in Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. Owned by Euskal Trenbide Sarea, it connects the Basque narrow-gauge railway network with the Santander–Bilbao line [es]. It is used for freight transport.[2]

History

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On 2 August 1897 the government awarded the concession for a narrow-gauge railway between La Industrial (in Basurto [es]) and Azbarren.[3] The line opened in its entirety on 7 January 1906, connecting the Bilbao–San Sebastián and Santander–Bilbao line [es] lines.[4] Negotiations between the Santander–Bilbao Railway Company and Ferrocarriles Vascongados (the operator of the Bilbao–San Sebastián line) to establish a joint passenger service started in 1904. The negotiations proved difficult, and it wasn't until the opening of the San Sebastián–Hendaye line in 1912 that a joint service was inaugurated, running from Hendaye to Oviedo via San Sebastián, Bilbao and Santander. This service was short-lived, as the outbreak of World War I caused its suspension in 1914. Regular passenger service between San Sebastián and Santander wasn't restored after the end of the war.[5]

Ariz, a station close to the terminus of the line at Azbarren, was also the starting point of a branchline that connected the Ferrocarriles Vascongados network with the broad-gauge Tudela–Bilbao railway at Dos Caminos [es]. In 1918 a new line opened from Azbarren to Matiko, linking the Bilbao–San Sebastián line with the Bilbao–Plentzia railway. In the 1920s Ariz had eight tracks while nearby Azbarren had four. By the late 1950s freight traffic levels were falling. The Matiko–Azbarren line had to be closed in 1969 due to the collapse of a tunnel, while the branchline to Dos Caminos closed in 1970 due to low traffic. The line from Basurto to Ariz remained open, and in the 1970s a new freight yard was built by FEVE in Ariz.[6]

In 2016, after four years of works, the line was put underground in Bilbao. The urban section through Iralabarri [es] was replaced by a cut-and-cover tunnel, while the old tunnel under Miribilla [es] was replaced by a new one.[7] The Constitutional Court ruled in 2016 that the Ariz–Basurto and Irauregi–Lutxana lines had to be transferred from the Adif-operated Red Ferroviaria de Interés General [es] to Euskal Trenbide Sarea, since they run entirely within the Basque Country.[8] The transfer of the two lines took place in December 2018.[2] In 2023, the Basque Government made public a proposal to cover the line in Basauri.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Nuestra red". Euskal Trenbide Sarea (in Spanish). 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Euskadi asume desde hoy las dos líneas de tren transferidas por el Gobierno central". El Correo (in Spanish). 14 December 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  3. ^ Serrano Abad, Susana (1994). "El declive del tradicional nexo de unión entre el Señorío de Bizkaia y la meseta a través del Kadagua". Vasconia: Cuadernos de historia - geografía (in Spanish) (22): 305. ISSN 1136-6834. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  4. ^ Ormaechea Hernáiz, Ángel María (1988). "Ferrocarriles Vascos (1855-1913)" (PDF). Ekonomiaz: Revista vasca de economía (in Spanish) (9–10): 140. ISSN 0213-3865. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  5. ^ Macías, Olga (24–26 September 2003). "El Ferrocarril directo Oviedo-Hendaya: la conexión ferroviaria en vía estrecha de la cornisa cantábrica" (PDF). lll Congreso de Historia Ferroviaria. Siglo y medio deferrocarril en Asturias (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  6. ^ Plan de acción del paisaje cultural industrial de La Basconia (PDF) (in Spanish). November 2018. pp. 51–52. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  7. ^ G. Alonso, Alberto (17 May 2016). "Irala y Rekalde entierran desde hoy los trenes de mercancías". Deia (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  8. ^ "El TC excluye de la red de 'interés general' dos líneas de tren vizcainas". Deia (in Spanish). 3 August 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  9. ^ Pérez, Leire (16 March 2023). "El Gobierno vasco quiere soterrar un tramo del tren en Basauri y levantar 295 pisos". El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 April 2024.
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