Euskotren receives the first of the five trains that will come into service on the Topo line extension in Donostialdea in the last half of the year
- Over the coming months, the validation testing, the vinyl signage work and the commissioning of this first convoy will be carried out at the Araso workshops
- The unit, manufactured by CAF, has four carriages, can transport up to 400 people, and has advanced accessibility and travel comfort features
Euskotren, the publicly-owned company under the Basque Government’s Ministry of Sustianable Mobility, has received at its Araso workshops (Irún) the first of the five train units that will progressively come into service during the last half of the year; the aim is to meet the increase in demand that is envisaged after the new Topo line infrastructure in Donostialdea is operational, both in San Sebastián and between Altza and Galtzaraborda. New trains were needed for the railway system to cover the better frequencies in the area.
The Basque Minister for Sustainable Mobility, Susana García Chueca, and the Basque Deputy Minister for Infrastructures and Sustainable Mobility, Miguel Ángel Páez, have seen for themselves the work being carried out on this first unit as a step prior to it coming into service. The Euskotren general manager, Javier Seoane, and CAF representatives – including the Vehicles General Manager, Javier Iriarte – were also there. In 2023, Euskotren placed an order with the company in Beasain to supply five new electric multiple units (EMUs), costing €53.6 million. The first of those trains – with four carriages, able to transport up 400 people and with WC – has already been delivered by CAF; it is already at the Euskotren facilities where the validation tests and the different commissioning and vinyl signage work will be carried out over the coming months. This first train will initially be used to meet the increased service envisaged with the extension of the Topo line, along the railway bypass through the centre of San Sebastián and its three new stations, as well as the bypass between Altza and Galtzaraborda.
The Basque Minister for Sustainable Mobility, Susana García Chueca, explained that the new units ‘are proof of the endeavour to advance in terms of passenger accessibility, safety and comfort; with their 400 seats, they will increase the service capacity of the Topo line in the railway revolution that Gipuzkoa is going to see from this very year, with the coming into service of these two new infrastructures, as these three new stations in San Sebastián will be used by seven million passengers a year by 2030’.
CAF plans to deliver the other units during the second half of 2026. Euskotren will then have a fleet of 67 trains and greater capacity to meet the growing demand, both in its regular service and for when it puts on extra trains for festivities, cultural and sports events. These new needs will initially be focused on the Topo line in Donostialdea; a further four units have already been manufactured, delivered and are now in service. In the future, the service will be bolstered on the future Line 5 of the Bilbao Metro, where Euskal Trenbide Sarea (ETS), the publicly-owned company under the Basque Government’s Ministry of Sustainable Mobility, is overseeing the construction and which will be operated by Euskotren, in the same way as Line 3.
Towards universal accessibility
The process to modernise the rolling stock of the Euskotren subway and railways services began in 2011 with the Series-900 EMUs (Electric Multiple Units) coming into service; it was subsequently completed with the introduction of the Series-950 and Series-940 EMUs. Even though the interior and exterior design of Euskotren’s current and future fleet is standardised, the different train series have each included more advanced safety and technological features.
These Series-980 units will come with the most advanced innovations of the rail sector in terms of technology, reliability, sustainability, safety and ergonomics. As part of the ‘Strategic Plan 2024-2030 to Improve Accessibility in Euskotren’, the manufacturing of those trains is a new step forward in the goal to guarantee that everybody can travel on an equal basis in an inclusive and adapted public transport.
Thus, the units will have accessible doors for people with reduced mobility. There will be acoustic warnings for the blind and light signals for the hearing impaired, along with reserved areas for the different groups. The project also includes an adapted WC and tactile flooring will be installed so people with low vision can better get their bearings inside the units. The signage, the lettering and the vinyl signs are used in such a way to facilitate access to the trains and to make it safer for everyone to travel.
These new units also have the new ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) system on board; this is a technologically more advanced system that the current Euroloop to automatically monitor the driving of the train and inform the drivers of the appropriate speed margins on each section, along with setting maximum limits for the unit. The ERTMS allows those speed margins to be quickly adapted to the changing conditions on the tracks directly from the driving seat. The system is currently being installed on the ETS network in Gipuzkoa and will then be extended to Bizkaia; tests are currently being run at night between Hendaye and Irun and it will gradually be rolled out in the rail service in the coming months.