Metro Bilbao (company)

Metro Bilbao is the company that runs lines 1 and 2 of the Bilbao metro. It is owned by the Biscay Transport Consortium, itself dependent on the Basque Government and the Foral Deputation of Biscay. The ownership of the metro infrastructure is shared by the Biscay Transport Consortium and Euskal Trenbide Sarea.

Metro Bilbao, S.A.
TypeGovernment-owned
Founded18 February 1993
Headquarters
2 Navarra Street, Bilbao, Biscay
,
Spain
Area served
Greater Bilbao
Key people
Unai Rementeria (CEO)
OwnerBiscay Transport Consortium
Number of employees
779[1] (2020)
Websitewww.metrobilbao.eus/es/inicio

History

Metro Bilbao, S.A. was established on 28 February 1993 with a capital of 10 million pesetas and the Biscay Transport Consortium as its only shareholder.[2] The Basque narrow-gauge railway network in which the Bilbao metro has its origins (line 1 took over most of the existing Bilbao-Plentzia railway) had been managed by Basque Railways (known as Euskotren after 1996) since 1982. However, a separate company was established to manage the metro.[3]

The management of the metro system by an independent company was a result of the 1975 law that established the Biscay Transport Consortium and the 1983 Law of Historical Territories.[4] The creation of a separate company has been criticized as a political decision that left Basque Railways in a weaker position (the Bilbao-Plentzia line was the busiest of its network) and that hindered the reuse of existing infrastructures (particularly in the Txorierri line).[3]

Unlike the first two lines of the system, line 3 of the metro is run by Euskotren. That was the original intention when the line was tendered in 2009, but it was later announced that Metro Bilbao would be the operator. In 2013 Euskotren was confirmed as the operator of the new line.[5]

References
  1. Cuentas anuales e informe de gestión del ejercicio 2020, junto con el informe de auditoría emitido por un auditor independiente. Metro Bilbao (Report) (in Spanish). 25 March 2020. p. 55. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  2. Peris Torner, Juan (10 May 2012). "Metro de Bilbao". Spanish Railway (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  3. Olaizola Elordi, Juanjo (2017). "La red ferroviaria vasca, del colapso a la modernidad (1977-2017)" (PDF). VII Congreso de Historia Ferroviaria (in Spanish). Asociación Ibérica de Historia Ferroviaria: 6–8. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  4. Hernández Marco, José Luis (March 2019). "El impacto del metro en los ferrocarriles vascos: Metro Bilbao, S.A. versus EuskoTren, S.A., 1995-2016" [The impact of the underground on the Basque railways: Metro Bilbao, S.A. versus EuskoTren, S.A., 1995-2016] (PDF). Transportes, Servicios y Telecomunicaciones (in Spanish) (39): 19–20. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  5. G. Alonso, Alberto (14 March 2013). "Euskotren será la encargada de gestionar el nuevo trazado". Deia (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
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