THE Basque regional government has approved a financing and construction agreement with the Bizkaia provincial government for the project to build Line 4 of the Metro Bilbao network. This will run for 6.7km from Matiko to Rekalde and bring the metro to the southern districts of the city in northern Spain.
The agreement sets an initial budget of €412m for the project, with the Basque government to provide 55%. The province of Bizkaia will cover the remaining 45%, with its contribution capped at €200m until 2032. The total cost of the project will be updated as design work progresses.
Line 4 will begin at the current terminus of Line 3 at Matiko, and run via Deusto/Universidad, Parque, Zabalburu, Moyua and Irala to Rekalde. There will be interchange with lines 1 and 2 of the Bilbao Metro network at Moyua.
Construction is scheduled to start in Rekalde by the end of 2027. Regional infrastructure manager Basque Railway Network (ETS) is responsible for delivering the project.
The agreement also commits the Basque government and Bizkaia to seek the transfer of 1000mm-gauge rail infrastructure from national infrastructure manager Adif to the region. Responsibility for commuter operations on Line C4 from Bilbao La Concordia to La Calzada passed to the Basque regional government last year, but the infrastructure remains under central government control.
The second phase of the Line 4 project would use Line C4 to extend metro services beyond Rekalde towards the district of Enkarterri, improving public transport provision in the western part of Bizkaia.
For detailed data on European metro projects, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
