The tramway extension between Atxuri and Bolueta to come into service on 25 March
The Bilbao Tramway extension between Atxuri and Bolueta will come into service on Friday 25 March. This morning, the Basque Government’s Minister for Territorial Planning, Housing and Transport, Iñaki Arriola, and the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto, made the announcement after taking the tram along the 2.3 kilometres. The new section adds two new stops to Bilbao’s light rail network.
From Friday, Bilbao tramway will be 8 kilometres long and have a total of 16 stops between Bolueta and La Casilla. The tramway extension to Bolueta has involved an investment of €5.2 million, 65% financed by the Basque Government and 35% by Bilbao City Council.
Extending the tramway to Bolueta will benefit around three thousand people living in the area closest to the new stop in a neighbourhood that has undergone remarkable development in recent years.
ABUSU
The new Abusu stop is the important new feature along the section. Linked to the exit of the Miraflores tunnel towards Bolueta, next to the Ikastola Abusu school, the stop improves accessibility and the connection between the education centre and La Peña district. This will significantly increase the pedestrian flow along the pavement on the mountain side.
The useful transit section of this side of the pavement will be widened from the current 2 metres to 3 metres, which will provide continuity from the stop to the school entrance.
The solution provided by the new stop involves two platforms on either side of the tracks and is connected to a level crossing accessed by ramps from the pavement.
This layout has meant minimum work to the existing track, as only a minimum movement of the rails was required and the height did not need to be altered. The stop has two platforms that are 30 metres long and between 3 and 5 metres wide on the side of the river and 3.6 metres on the mountain side.
Each platform has a shelter that, apart from protecting passengers from bad weather, is equipped with ticket franking and vending machines, an installation cabinet, and advertising and information posters.
In Bolueta, the station had to be adapted to the characteristics and requirements of the tramway, while the stop is in the same place as always in Atxuri. The existing rail turnouts to workshops and sheds have been kept at the sidings of the hundred-year-old station, as they are compatible with the tramway service and can be used to manoeuvre the track’s maintenance units. The platform height has been lowered, along with other small adaptation work.
NEW STOP
During the press call, Arriola and Aburto also announced the agreement reached between both institutions for a new stop on the section. It will be located by the Avenida de Miraflores and Avenida Indalecio Prieto roundabout.
The new stop will have a lift to the Avenida de Miraflores for the people living in the lower part of Santutxu and which will also stop at the Paseo de Los Caños. There will be a path along the Ibaizabal to the walkway between the Paseo de Los Caños and Calle Zamakola as well. The plan is for the call to tender for the construction project, which will determine the cost and exact timeline, to be launched before the summer.