The European Investment Bank (EIB) and publicly-owned Spanish infrastructure group Adif Alta Velocidad have agreed to loan €430m towards a 182km high-speed rail line in Spain’s Basque Province.
The double-track Basque Y line will connect Bilbao, San Sebastian and Vitoria-Gasteiz, but aims to strengthen passenger and freight connections throughout the Iberian Peninsula.
Passenger trains will be capable of travelling at 240km/h and freight trains will have a maximum speed of 120km/h.
The Y is part of the Atlantic Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network and will link the Spanish and Portuguese networks with the French system and so to the rest of the EU.
The €430m is the final tranche of a €1bn loan approved in 2017 for the project, which was then increased to €1.4bn in 2021.
The line is on track to open to the public in 2027.
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