EUSKOTREN BRINGS FORWARD THE SUMMER TIMETABLE ON ALL RAILWAY, UNDERGROUND AND TRAMWAY LINES TO 8 JUNE

• Rail services are being increased to better meet users’ mobility needs

• The change will also affect the bus shuttle to Usansolo Hospital with the bus service adapted to the new rail timetable.

• Furthermore, 100% of the weekend services, except for night trains, will be up and running again from Saturday 6 June.

Euskotren, a Basque Government publicly-run company, will activate the summer timetable on Monday 8 June for its railway, underground and tramway services (in and Vitoria-Gasteiz), including the train-bus shuttle to Usansolo Hospital.

With the arrival of summer, Euskotren is adapting its needs to meet the season’s travel needs. The regular train service is therefore being expanded to make it easier to travel to coastal towns and their beaches. This year, given the current situation, Euskotren has decided to bring forward the summer services to better meet the mobility needs of our users.

As regards journeys to coastal areas, there will be more trains running in the Bajo Deba to make it easier to travel to Deba beach. There will also be more services at weekends and on bank holidays to Urdaibai (Bilbao- line), Kostaldea (Donostia-) and on the Topo (San Sebasitan’s underground/overground suburban railway) to Donostia/San Sebastián (-/Amara and Altza/Amara).

On Monday 8 June, the train-bus shuttle service between the station and Usansolo Hospital will also change, with the bus arrivals and departures adapted to train times. On weekdays, from Monday to Friday, there will be 58 bus journeys from the Hospital and 59 from Usansolo station. On Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, there will be 32 journeys from the Hospital and 32 from the station.

As part of the process to adapt the different measures implemented because of COVID- 19, Euskotren has strived to bring forward the start of the summer service in response to users’ demands and to facilitate mobility between our towns.

As far as Tramways are concerned, this will be the first summer of the new Vitoria- Gasteiz to Unibertsitatea line and it will run at its usual frequency. In Bilbao, the tramway service will run every 15 minutes on weekend days and at weekends and on bank holidays from Monday 8 June.

Furthermore, and along the same line, this coming weekend, Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June, the service will run at its usual Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday frequency (100% of the service). However, two of the COVID-19 extraordinary measures will

continue: there will be no night services and station on the Topo will remain closed (the Topo runs between Lasarte Oria and Irun Ficoba, in both directions).

The Euskotren website has practical information on tourist locations which can be reached on its rail, tramway (Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz) and Larreineta funicular railway services: beaches, salt marshes, museums, natural parks, historical centres of Basque municipalities, tower houses, chapels, the Flysch between Zumaia and Deba, port, villages, walks, Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, etc.

Since 2 June, the Basque Railway Museum in () has been open to visitors and runs stream train services every Saturday, Sunday and on bank holidays (except Mondays).

Further information by phoning 944 333 333, www.euskotren.eus, @euskotren and on the Euskotren official app.

Release date: 4 June 2020