The Basque Country’s Sustainable Mobility Plan has a budget of nearly EUR 582 million for rail services, as well as the construction and modernization of infrastructure, which accounts for the largest share of investments.
The Sustainable Mobility Strategy Directorate will have EUR 250.4 million at its disposal in 2026, the year in which the Basque Country’s Sustainable Mobility Plan will come into force, comprising over a hundred actions for the next decade. These include supporting municipalities in implementing sustainable mobility tools, with a budget of EUR 250,000.
One of the main objectives of the plan is to promote fare integration into a unified model—with specific features for each historical territory—based on granting greater discounts to frequent public transport users, with a focus on specific groups such as young people. A budget of EUR 300,000 has been allocated for this initiative, with the preliminary stage being the completion – by the end of 2025 – of the process of interoperability of all Bat, Barik, and Mugi cards on all public transport in Euskadi (the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, consisting of the provinces of Álava, Gipuzkoa, and Bizkaia).
Priorities set out in the Basque Country’s Sustainable Mobility Plan
This strategy includes four main objectives aimed at increasing and developing rail transport.
One objective is to promote train and tram transport as a means of public transport, which will receive EUR 130 million next year for the service provided by Euskotren, the public transport operator owned by the Basque Government. In addition EUR 92.8 million will be allocated to the suburban rail service, recently transferred to the autonomous government and operated by Renfe. Of this amount EUR 3.4 million will be allocated to the development of the Llanada Alavesa service, launched in May, which involves a suburban railway line (called cercanías) that crosses this region and is an important commuter route between towns in the Vitoria-Gasteiz area and its surroundings.
Another target of the authorities is to renew the rolling stock by purchasing new trams and trains. Euskotren, the public transport operator in the Basque Country, will have EUR 44.4 million available for the purchase and modernization of trains and trams, taking into account needs such as the future line 5 of the Bilbao metro or the extension of the tram to the Zabalgana district of Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Digitization and increased transport safety is another important component of the strategy, with work continuing in 2026 on the installation of ERTMS to standardize signaling and traffic control at European level. Work will begin in the province of Gipuzkoa (Hendaia–Usurbil), both on the lines of the railway infrastructure manager ETS (Euskal Trenbide Sarea) and on board trains operated by Euskotren, with the ERTMS system then being implemented across the wider Basque Country network.
As accessibility is important for attracting passengers EUR 19.5 million will be allocated to transport planning, of which EUR 9.1 million will be for subsidies, including free public transport for children under 12 – a measure implemented this year and which will become permanent from 2026.
Investments in rail projects
To create a developed, safe, and high-capacity rail infrastructure, the Basque Country’s Sustainable Mobility Plan for 2026 provides for investments of EUR 259.5 million to continue ongoing work, plan new projects, and maintain existing infrastructure through the ETS administrator.
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