Basque Y

Basque Y route map.

Basque Y is the high-speed rail network being built between the three cities of the Basque Country autonomous community, in Spain; Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Donostia-San Sebastián.

Route

The connections to other networks.

In this map drawn in 2013, the Basque Y appears as "under construction" (yellow).

It will transport cargo and passengers. The cargo trains will connect the Port of Bilbao with the Port of Pasaia, (also known as Pasajes/Pasajes-San Pedro) and will consist of 157 kilometers of double track and 37 kilometers of single track. Due to the mountainous relief of the region, 105,9 km (62%) will be in 80 tunnels and 10% in 71 bridges. The minimum speed is 120 km/h, whilst the maximum is 250 km/h.

The Basque Y will be built in European rail gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) ). It will connect Madrid via Valladolid and connect France via Irun. While the French high-speed rail line (on which the TGV trains achieve their top speeds) is not planned to reach Hendaye until 2020, the Hendaye-Bordeaux track allows 160 km/h. The network will also include a connection to the Navarrese Corridor, the high speed line projected between Zaragoza and the capital of Navarre, Pamplona.

Travel time comparisons

As announced initially, it could take well under one hour to connect the cities while the current slower network takes from 1 h 40 min to 2.5 hours. However, a closer study revealed in February 2015 that the projections below do not possibly hold water, conspicuously delaying initial time estimates.^[1]

Origin	Destination	Straight line distance	Current minimum travel time by train	By bus	By car	Projected time on the Basque Y
Bilbao	Donostia-San Sebastián	78 km	2 h 13 min	1 h 10 min	1 h	38 min
Bilbao	Vitoria-Gasteiz	50 km	2 h 20 min	1 h	45 min	28 min
Vitoria-Gasteiz	San Sebastián	76 km	1 h 40 min	1 h 30 min	1 h 10 min	34 min
Bilbao	Madrid	321 km	4 h 50 min	4 h 45 min	4 h	2 h 15 min

Stations

Bilbao-Abando
Vitoria-Dato
Irún
San Sebastián-Norte
Ezkio-Itsaso
Euba

Planning

It took 15 years from the first proposals of a Basque high-speed network to the detailed project. The main issues were disagreements between the series of Spanish and Basque governments, and who would bear the costs. Through the Basque tax agreement, the Spanish government will make initial payments on behalf of the Basque government.

An agreement on 25 April 2006 puts the section between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Bilbao under Spanish control (through Adif), and the section in Gipuzkoa province under Basque control.^[2]

It will be the costliest investment in the Basque Country. In June 2012, the European Investment Bank agreed to offer €1Bn of funding. The actual completion of the works has been postponed for several times, but the latest deadline was set at 2020 by Basque high-ranking officials. In early 2015, relevant public authorities (Basque Government, Spanish Ministry of Public Works) renewed their commitment with the project, while on the French branch (Aquitaine) financial tensions and public interest considerations risk to halt progress in high-speed rail works.

Benefits

It will ease mobility between the Basque capitals, in fact, travel times between Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz will be cut in half. In addition, the Basque government is improving the existing EuskoTren infrastructure between Bilbao and Donostia-San Sebastián, enabling a better connection between smaller towns and big cities.

The cargo traffic will remove lorries from the roads, the railway will connect the Port of Bilbao with Europe's major railway lines. The Basque Y will is being built in European rail gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)).

To reduce the environmental impact, the layout avoids the natural areas of Aizkorri, Urkiola and Aralar. The increase on the usage of railway, will reduce the usage of planes, more polluting than trains. In addition it will be more affordable than traveling by plane (very unusual for Spain, where general tariffs for the AVE service from Barcelona to Málaga cost €138.00 in "Turista" and €250.00 in "Club" class one way), and taking passengers to the very centre of cities, instead of the outskirts, where airports are usually located.

Criticism

The official Y-shaped layout was approved by the Basque Parliament, but criticised by Ezker Batua-Berdeak, a coalition of the Basque branch of United Left, a component member of the Basque Government in 2007. EB put forward an U-shaped layout.^[3]^[4]

More significant is the opposition staged by the Basque nationalist left and several ecologist groups, such as AHT Gelditu. A demonstration against the train gathered thousands to Arrasate/Mondragón in December 2007. Before the 2010-2011 permanent ceasefire, the Basque armed separatist group ETA had the works as one of its targets.^[5] In December 2008, Ignacio Uría Mendizábal, the chief executive of a construction company working on the project, was shot dead by ETA^[6]^[7] and in February 2009 a bomb planted against Ferrovial went off in Madrid.

Amidst a climate of bitter criticism to the Conservative Spanish government for its institutional recentralization and its "always and only obstructive" position "against Basque initiatives",^[8] PNV's Basque Government has voiced its concern and mistrust over the Madrid government's actual commitment in the face of overdue funding by December 2014.^[9] EH Bildu, the leading political force in Gipuzkoa, confirmed in early 2015 its frontal refusal to the project, pointing to the Basque Y's alleged shaky foundations (financially no return or loss, feeble public service). Basque nationalist left's spokespersons labelled the project a "deception-based propaganda operation".^[10]

References

↑ "Fomento admite que el TAV vasco será más lento de lo previsto". EITB. 2015-02-24. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
↑ "Basque and Spanish Governments sign Y Railway Project agreement". eitb24. 2006-04-25. Retrieved 2006-04-27.
↑ El TAV, Ezker Batua y la transversalidad Archived December 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., Javier Madrazo, 10 November 2007.
↑ EB califica de "ecologistas de pacotilla" y "gamberros de patio" a quienes han puesto silicona en la cerradura de la sede de Bilbao Archived January 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine., 28 December 2007.
↑ ETA convierte las obras del Tren de Alta Velocidad en un objetivo estratégico, Óscar B. de Otálora, El Diario Vasco, 4th November 2007.
↑ Eta shoots dead businessman working on high-speed Spanish train link, Graham Keeley, The Times, 3 December 2008
↑ Eta warns rail workers are target, BBC,21 January 2009
↑ "Urkullu pide al Gobierno central que "deje en paz a los vascos"". El País. 2014-06-22.
↑ Vazquez, Miriam (2014-12-19). "Urkullu no prevé reunirse con Rajoy en su visita a Madrid". Noticias de Gipuzkoa. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
↑ "EH Bildu pide a Urkullu que informe sobre la rentabilidad del TAV". EITB. 2014-06-22. Retrieved 2015-04-15.

External links

Official website of the project.
Information about the project on the Basque Governments Transportation department.
Advertisement promoting the Basque Y.
AHT Ez. Basque opposition to high-speed trains.

High-speed rail in Spain

Lines in service	Madrid–Barcelona–Figueres Madrid–Valencia/Alicante Madrid–Seville Madrid–Málaga Madrid–Leon Barcelona–Perpignan Madrid–Toledo Atlantic Axis

Lines under construction	Madrid-Galicia Basque Y Mediterranean rail corridor Seville–Cádiz Andalusian transverse axis

Planned lines	Madrid–Lisbon Porto–Vigo

Rolling stock	S/100 S/102 S/103 (Siemens Velaro) S/112 S/114 S/120 , S/121 S/130 S/353 S/354 S/490

Services	AVE Avant Alvia Altaria Alaris Arco

High-speed railway lines

Africa

Asia

China (Mainland)	(* Indicates overlap with conventional services) Tianjin–Qinhuangdao –Shenyang* Nanjing–Hefei –Wuhan* Beijing–Tianjin–Binhai Taiyuan–Shijiazhuang Jinan–Qingdao –Rongcheng* Suining–Chengdu* Nanjing–Hangzhou –Ningbo –Taizhou–Wenzhou –Fuzhou –Xiamen –Shenzhen Beijing–Shijiazhuang –Wuhan –Guangzhou –Shenzhen Zhengzhou–Xi'an –Baoji –Lanzhou –Urumqi Jiujiang–Nanchang –Fuzhou* Chengdu–Dujiangyan Shanghai–Nanjing Shanghai–Hangzhou –Changsha –Guiyang Changchun–Jilin Hainan Eastern Ring Guangzhou–Zhuhai Beijing–Shanghai Bengbu–Hefei –Fuzhou Dalian–Harbin –Qiqihar Panjin–Yingkou Hengyang–Liuzhou Liuzhou–Nanning* Nanning–Qinzhou* Qinzhou–Fangchenggang* Qinzhou–Beihai* Taiyuan–Xi'an Wuhan–Xianning Wuhan–Huangshi Zhengzhou–Kaifeng Guiyang–Guangzhou Nanning–Guangzhou Guiyang–Kaiyang Zhengzhou–Jiaozuo Shenyang–Dandong Jilin–Hunchun Lanzhou–Zhongchuan Airport Nanjing–Anqing Nanning–Kunming

Japan	Tōkaidō Shinkansen Sanyō Shinkansen Tōhoku Shinkansen Jōetsu Shinkansen Hokuriku Shinkansen Kyushu Shinkansen Hokkaido Shinkansen

South Korea	Gyeongbu HSR Honam HSR

Taiwan	Taipei–Kaohsiung

Turkey	Ankara-Pendik Ankara–Konya

Europe

Belgium	HSL 1 HSL 2 HSL 3 HSL 4

France	LGV Sud-Est LGV Atlantique LGV Rhône-Alpes LGV Nord LGV Interconnexion Est LGV Méditerranée LGV Est Perpignan-Barcelona LGV Rhin-Rhône

Germany	Cologne–Düren Cologne–Frankfurt Hanover–Würzburg Mannheim–Stuttgart Rastatt–Offenburg Wolfsburg–Berlin Nuremberg–Ingolstadt Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle

Italy	Turin–Milan Milan–Bologna Bologna–Florence Florence–Rome Rome–Naples Naples–Salerno

Netherlands	HSL-Zuid

Norway	Gardermoen Line

Spain	Madrid–Barcelona Madrid–Seville Madrid–Malaga Madrid– Leon Madrid–Toledo Atlantic Axis Barcelona–Perpignan Madrid–Valencia/Alicante

United Kingdom	High Speed 1

North America

South America

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.