The Department of Sustainable Mobility of the Basque Government has announced that the new Topo line in Donostia will commence operations on November 21. The public company Euskotren has begun this week the training of the 180 drivers who will operate this new underground passage. This new infrastructure will traverse the city center underground, connecting the stations of Amara, Kontxa-Erdialdea, and Bentaberri.
Susana García Chueca, Minister of Sustainable Mobility, explained this morning at the Bentaberri station that everything is proceeding as planned and that this public service will feature metro-like frequencies, every seven and a half minutes. Furthermore, the minister emphasized that the new infrastructure will be "at the level that Donostia and Gipuzkoa deserve for looking towards the coming decades."
García Chueca recalled that the Basque Government, through the public entity Euskal Trenbide Sarea, is applying the final architectural touches and carrying out urbanization works related to the facilities of this new infrastructure, which they have fully financed and executed. She indicated that these surface works will bring urban improvements visible in several city center streets and will utilize the area freed up by the railway yard in Amara. Additionally, she announced the tender for the urbanization of Zaragoza square, with a budget of 1.4 million euros.
Concurrently, professional drivers from Euskotren, who will operate on this two-track line that has eliminated the turnaround point at the surface station in Amara, are undergoing training. This training, known as "white runs," aims to simulate the future public rail service without passengers, allowing drivers to experience the characteristics of the new section under the most realistic conditions possible. This process will take place over the coming weeks, as it must be coordinated with the current service that terminates at the surface station in Amara.
The minister stated that the three new stations and the route connecting them (Amara, central Donostia, and the Antiguo neighborhood) will enable the Topo to have more stations, better frequencies (7.5 minutes between Pasaia and Añorga), and a continuous, more efficient network without the train turnarounds currently occurring in Amara. "The new Topo will feature more modern stations, more accessible to everyone, and an efficient and reliable service," she added.
Furthermore, on July 18, another turnaround point in Alza was removed, following the launch of the new railway bypass between Altza and Galtzaraborda (Errenteria) and the inauguration of the new underground station in Pasai Antxo.
