METRO BILBAO
The Bilbao Metro started operations on 11th November 1995 in an attempt to achieve the following aims in public transport for the city: 
  • Improve traffic congestion in the metropolitan area
  • Raise the standards of public transport
  • Act as the mainspring of the transport system for the area
  • Contribute to the revitalization of city life and business.
A new metro for a city in the process of regeneration
The Bilbao metropolitan area has roughly a million inhabitants which represents 78% of the population of Bizkaia or 43% of the total population of the Basque Country. 

Bilbao alone has almost half a million inhabitants. This is where the main provincial services are located, which means that over two-thirds of all journeys within the province start or end in Bilbao. 

When the Bilbao Metro started operations commuter traffic was estimated at 1,150,000 a day with a mere half a million commuters using public transport. 

In short, these were some of the considerations facing the town planners and project managers of the Bilbao Metropolitan Railway. 

 
The metro as the best solution
In the end, the Metro appeared to be the best solution and one that the community in the Bilbao metropolitan area would embrace. It fulfilled all the proposed objectives as a mass public transport system that would be comfortable, reliable, safe and independent of all other means of transport because it would not compete in the same space or surroundings. 

Furthermore, it could become the hub of the city’s public transport system by having all other means of transport branch from it and so achieve integration in the whole system. 

Logically, the metro project aimed to achieve the best possible use of the transport system. So, the Metro should pass through the most populated centres with the highest concentration of commuters and should also offer a quality service at a reasonable investment.
Construction work on the metro
From the beginning of the project development special attention was given to the design and architecture of the stations. This approach should not merely centre on aesthetic considerations but should cover such aspects as functionality, commuter convenience and comfort. 

Sir Norman Foster and his team were commissioned to design and plan the underground stations on the city center underground section. 

In addition to the central ideas of originality, simplicity and efficiency ever-present in Foster’s work, the Bilbao Metro incorporates the positive core concept of integrating architectural and engineering features to create the smooth flowing lines and spaces which is so characteristic.
The distinguishing features are discernible in Foster’s designs: 
  • The interior: the treatment of the station cavern
  • The access areas: access ramps, mezzanines, stairs and crossovers.
  • The exterior: what if visible at street level and forms part of the urban landscape.
The following three elements relate to the structure of the stations: 
A gigantic cavern with a cross-section measuring 160 m2 where track bays, platforms and mezzanines are located. 

The access walkways with halls into and from which stairs lead to platforms and the street. The halls and mezzanines hang from the station ceiling. The overall result is one of beauty and functionality. 

The Metro architecture also finds unique expression in the street as what are now termed “fosteritos”. 

The visual impression is of extraordinary spaciousness where the passenger does not feel trapped and can find whatever he needs close at hand.
 


Metro Bilbao Web: www.metrobilbao.net
 
* METROPOLITAN BILBAO