Euskal Trenbide Sarea (Basque Railway Network), a public entity under the Department of Sustainable Mobility of the Basque Government, has awarded the design of the track variant study for the railway line between the Ermua and Unibertsitatea (Eibar) stations on the Bilbao-Donostia line. The project involves a two-kilometer track doubling, the replacement of the Errotabarri and San Lorentzo halts with a new station, and the elimination of two level crossings.
The definition of the new railway variant will be carried out by Dair Ingenieros S.L., which will have a budget of €560,016.10 and an execution period of 15 months. The section under study is located between kilometer points 4+830 and 46+700 of the line connecting Bilbao and San Sebastián.
In this section, the single-track limitation, the presence of two level crossings, and the existence of two nearby halts affect operational possibilities, safety, and urban integration. The corridor also presents significant geometric and geotechnical constraints, given the complex orography and the strong urban development of the municipality of Ermua, necessitating a thorough study of alternatives to enable track doubling and improve the railway alignment under adequate technical, operational, and environmental conditions.
The section also features two level crossings: the automated San Lorentzo crossing, for vehicular traffic, and the Errotabarri pedestrian crossing, located near the halt of the same name. Their elimination is a priority objective for both operational safety criteria and the improvement of urban permeability.
This study must include, among other aspects, the geological and geotechnical characterization of the corridor, the definition of variants and alternatives, the functional analysis of future railway operation, and the identification of affected services, as well as a preliminary proposal for their restoration.
