La Y vasca

The new Basque railway will have a direct and immediate impact on freight transport once it enters service.

(Information extracted from the report on the impact of the new standard gauge railway on the Basque freight transport. January 2008)

• 400 percent increase in freight transport by rails in the following 10-15 years, which means an equivalent of 800,000 lorries per year.
• Boost in the ordinary network for freight transport. High-speed services will release the conventional network from 240 weekly trains, which means 200 percent increase in carrying freight by ordinary trains.
• Overcoming of the current standstill. The shortage of both network capacity and adaptation of mobile material to freight transport blocks its growth.
• Elimination of the obstacle caused by the different gauge measure. The current standard gauge penalises severely the building of long railway corridors, as freight must be transferred to another train due to current problems with the European gauge measure.

Mobility in the Basque Country