Bilbao metro

The Bilbao metro (Spanish: Metro de Bilbao, Basque: 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 combine to form one line that ends in the south of Bilbao. Line 3 has a "V" shape connecting the municipality of Etxebarri with the Bilbao neighbourhood of Matiko; the apex of the "V" is Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo station, where all three current lines meet. The metro is connected with the Bilbao tram, Bilboko Aldiriak (commuter rail services), Euskotren Trena (commuter rail services), Feve (commuter rail services, regional and long-distance trains), Renfe long-distance trains, and Bilbao's bus station (Bilbao Intermodal). All three lines use metre gauge.

As of 2021^[update], the Metro operates on 51 kilometers (32 mi) of route, with 48 stations. It is the third-busiest metro in Spain, after the Madrid and Barcelona metro systems.^{[citation needed]} The system was inaugurated in 1995, partially taking over a suburban railway line operated by Euskotren, first opened in 1887. A second line was added in 2002, running together with line 1 within Bilbao, and then serving towns along the left bank of the Ibaizabal-Nervion estuary. Line 3, operated by Euskotren, opened in 2017. Unlike the first two lines, which form an isolated system, line 3 is operated jointly with the Euskotren Trena commuter railway network.

The main station of the network is Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo, the only one in which all three lines meet. Since line 3 is operated as part of the wider Euskotren Trena network, the station is also the main hub for Euskotren's commuter railway services in Bilbao. Other important interchange stations are Abando (connections to Cercanías and Feve commuter railway lines and Renfe's long distance services) and Santimami/San Mamés (connections to Cercanías and the main bus terminal). Urbinaga station on line 2 was built as a future interchange station with two Cercanías commuter rail lines. However, as of 2021^[update], the commuter rail station is not yet built, having been postponed several times.

Additionally, the Bilbao tram has stops near the Santimami/San Mamés, Abando and Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo stations. Besides this, most stations have several bus connections.^{[citation needed]}

In addition, most other stations have connections to different bus lines.

The first proposal for building a metro system in Bilbao was made in the 1920s. The network was planned to have two lines connecting Atxuri station with the westernmost parts of the city (at the time), each running via a different route. Banco Español de Crédito, which was to have backed the project financially, withdrew in 1925; rendering the project infeasible. The proposal for a metro system was definitively abandoned after the civil war.^{[citation needed]}

In 1971 the government of Biscay, the Bilbao City Council and the Commerce Bureau created a commission to evaluate the transportation needs of Greater Bilbao. In 1974, the Spanish government pledged to give financial support to a metro project.

In 1976, the Biscay Transport Consortium was created. Two years later, in 1977, three proposals were made to build a metro line by 1985. Of these proposals, the first one was almost identical to the current network. The project for the construction of a metro was approved in 1977. However, many objections were raised against it, which together with disagreements between different institutions put the project on hold.